Anyone with a little silver in their hair will remember this historic spot on the south side of the Newton square for prescriptions, greeting cards and unique gifts. Memories erupted when I joined our Chamber of Commerce ambassadors on a current goodwill visit at Marilyn’s Hallmark store prior to our monthly luncheon meeting.
But back to a little history of G.H. Nollen, who opened for business in 1908 on the south side of the Newton square. He came to town in 1898 and was a local pharmacist before striking out on his own. Larry Hurto’s historic book of Newton, published in 1992, relates that Nollen’s had an 80th anniversary celebration in 1988 to thank local citizens for their patronage and loyalty over the years. It was indeed a great landmark.
Nollen’s was my dear late wife Mary’s favorite spot to find just the right greeting card for the right occasion. She liked the generous selection of cards for birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s and Father’s Days — you name it. One long, multi-tiered aisle of cards ran almost the entire length of the store. She spent lots of time reading the words to echo her own feelings, and had her little personal warehouse of cards tucked away at home.
But Mary’s real delight was climbing the stairs to visit the gift shop, which always had a unique selection. My friend Ruth O’Brien tells me this was a neat place to find just the right gift. She came to Newton in 1944 and spent lots of time up in that same gift shop. She mentioned the nice linens and lovely vases. She even bought several monogrammed gifts for her Irish husband over the years. My neighbor Betty Krystopolski remembers the imported glassware, china and other gifts that you couldn’t find elsewhere. They are among the scores of natives that always appreciated an “out-of-the-ordinary” place to visit at their leisure. Hometown shopping at its best.
And today, Marilyn’s Hallmark ranks high on the list. My Newton ambassador friends were pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of quality gifts throughout the store on First Avenue East. They enjoyed visiting with the manager, Mara Schwenker, who is now celebrating her 13th year in Newton. Our younger ambassadors didn’t remember Nollen’s, but more mature members like me felt this place is almost the spittin’ image of the old-time, uptown spot when it comes to shopping atmosphere.
The history of this mini chain of stores founded by Bob and Marilyn Emerson in their hometown of Manchester in 1979 was given by Vice President Doug Chodur, who lives in Oakland Acres east of Newton. He oversees the operation along with President Randy Emerson, son of the founders. They have stores in Manchester, Mt. Pleasant, Altoona, Newton, Olewein, Mason City and two in Decorah. The Newton store is their second largest, and carries the same “Marilyn’s” name as all the rest. Hallmark cards and gifts make up about 50 percent of their sales, with the rest from a wide variety of sources.
These days, we have a growing number of successful hometown, privately owned operations. As usual, the word success centers around a dedicated, helpful and knowledgeable staff, be it Nollen’s of the past or Hallmark of today.
We should continue to be thankful that we live in a free country where personal business initiative, given lots of care and attention, can not only be rewarding to the founders but to the entire surrounding community. This reflects private enterprise at its best.