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OFFICE BUILDING  The original Hall's Store was built in 1899, when John Hall
managed the store with George and Bill playing minor roles. George
passed away 20 years after the store started. Bill had joined the Foley Bros. construction. The Hall store was one of
the first retail businesses in Foley. At the right corner in back, was a stairway to the upper floor. This room
was used as a public hall, with meetings, dances, school and town plays. Known as "Hall's Opera House," there was a hand elevator
used to move merchandise up and down. Grocery salesmen would stay at the Foley Hotel and take orders on Mondays.
The salesmen would make calls to Gilman and Duelm. Hitching posts are on the north side of the building. A salesman from
St. Cloud Jobbing claimed he had a standing order for seven cases of Copenhagen snuff each week.
On October 25th, 1900 the Hall Bros. had an outdoor scale installed which was
located in the back of the store. Produce, which was brought to town, was weighed here. On November 15, 1901,
Dr. Anderson, a dentist, was in the Opera Hall for a day of pulling teeth. The famous meeting to move the county seat
to Foley was held here.
The store office was set up in the back upper loft. Charge and cash sales went
directly to the office, via a line and leather cup that ran back and forth. Change was sent back to the counter. There were
about a dozen sales centers with several in the grocery dept.
In 1914 an addition was added to the back which extended to the alley.
In 1917 an addition was built to the south for the clothing business. It
carried a complete line of men and women's clothing in addition to grocery items. For the next 30 years it did a big
volume of business, with a branch in Mora. In 1920 John Hall took over full management and
ownership.
During WWII, there was a demand for Government purchase of eggs.
John Hall, Jr. formed a separate corporation known as Hall Farm Products and managed
it as a separate business. Most eggs were shipped by truck to Minneapolis with Jack Lloyd as the driver.
The business grew and at one time there were 32 sales people working
on a busy Saturday.
On October 22, 1947 there was a large fire that destroyed the building. After
the fire, they rented the building next door on Dewey, the old Murphy Chevrolet location, and opened for business. The
lot was cleared and the present one story building was build by Frank Ratka, who had been an employee of the store.
After John Hall Sr. died the business was sold to Enoch Chmielewski and sons and
operated as the Jack & Jill's Grocery for many years. The son John Hall, Jr.
continued the grocery business in the store located in the southern part where Coborn's grocery is located. John Jr. died
in an auto accident and the store was sold, ending a 60-year business.
The present building houses a number of small offices.
-- from "The History of Foley" by Dennis Lewandowski |
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