127 Years Strong: The Unlikely Survival of a Small Town Department Store

It had been a long time since I had seen a shoehorn performing its intended duty. It seemed right at home, though, in Schroeder’s Department Store, nestled in nostalgia and an atmosphere of intentional dedication to tradition.

Schroeder’s stands stalwart at the corner of Washington and 17th in downtown Two Rivers, Wisconsin. The facade is aged and unassuming, not yet renovated in a futile attempt to recapture the spirit of lost glory days, but instead offering an honest testament to the days it has actually seen.

(Note: There are a number of photos of this wonderful location included at the end of the article. I simply didn’t have space for them all in the body.)

Inside, it presents itself with the same proud conviction. On the main floor, the Men’s and Women’s shoe and apparel sections are separated, each respectively attended by their own dedicated salespeople. There are no headsets, no fly-by-night part-timers.

These folks tend their shelves and displays with love, and they’re familiar with every product in their permanently assigned departments. Janice doesn’t just “work at…