From liquor store to bar, then fashion shop

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent 
With Leonard Cash
 
Continuing his series on lot 8 of block 10, which was formerly home to the Stock Growers and Merchant Co., historian Leonard Cash picks up in the late 1920s after Mary McCrea sold the building to former Mayor Pete Kinney. 
Cash is unsure of what Kinney used the building for, but after Kinney passed away, the estate was handed over to Ruth and Ethel Kinney on Jan. 20, 1931, according to courthouse files from Miscellaneous Record Book 6, page 246. They leased it to Max Lansom from 1936 to 1943, who used it as a liquor store in the 1940s. From 1943 to 1945, T.L. Graham leased the first floor for a retail liquor business before Charles and Harold Grieves took it over in 1946 until 1950. In 1954, it became a ladies “ready to wear” store operated by Louise Cummings. After Ethel Kinney passed away, Ruth Kinney sold it to Lloyd and Jane Avery in 1978 in a contract for deed. The Averys turned around and sold lot 8 (and the party wall agreement with lot 9) to Tony, Darla and Tyrone Farella in 1984. 
That brings us to the end of the records in the courthouse files, so now Cash will backtrack to his newspaper records from that time to give a more-detailed recapture. 
According to the Nov. 1, 1928, News Letter Journal, Charley Durkee was cleaning up the building and installing furniture for his business, Newcastle Hardware and Supply Co. 
“Charley was associated with his brother and father in business at Osage and he knows what he is doing. We wish him success,” the article says.
A few years later, the hardware store vacated the building, but an article from Oct. 20, 1932, said there were unconfirmed rumors that a jewelry store was to be opened by a man from Alliance, Nebraska. 
An advertisement from the Nov. 3, 1932 newspaper, proved the rumors to be true. The Martin W. Morris Jewelry Co. was opening on Nov. 5, with a complete stock of watches, jewelry and novelty goods. It was also to offering watch repairs.
That summer, around July 27, 1933, Rosella Lemmon, who operated Rosella Beauty Shoppe, was moving her store right above Morris in the front room of the apartment section of the building, which was equipped, furnished and redecorated to fit her needs. A steam heating system was to be installed soon. An ad from the same issue promised “permanent waves and all lines of beauty work” with Lemmon’s motto of “pleasing you means success to us.” 
A month later, the Aug. 31, 1933, paper announced that Morris married Frieda Lux on a Sunday morning in Alliance. The couple spent their honeymoon in the Black Hills before returning to Newcastle.
“Mr. Morris came to Newcastle and entered business early in the year and has formed a wide circle of friends during residence here,” the article says. 
The Oct. 12, 1933, issue reported that Morris held an auction sale at his shop on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, and the items sold “briskly and brought good prices.” The sale was deemed “one of the most successful merchandising events held in Newcastle in recent years.” For the remaining three days of the week, he held a half-price sale on the leftover auction items. 
“All advertising matter used for the auction sale was a product of the News Letter-Journal plant and Mr. Morris attributes much of the success of the sale to the effectiveness of this advertising,” the article says. 
On Aug. 9, 1934, the paper reported the unfortunate news that Frieda received word that her father Carl Lux passed away, so she was out of town visiting her family in Alliance. Lux was 84 years old and had six daughters and two sons. 
After his successful auction, Morris held another auction the following year, but this time it was to close out his stock because he was discontinuing his business, according to an article from Oct. 18, 1934. The store was hosting two sales daily at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., starting Tuesday and going until everything was sold. 
“Mr. Morris has been a fine business man, pleasant to deal with, respected and interested in civic affairs,” the article says. “The two have made many friends in this community through their business as well as their associations outside of the commercial world.” 
The last day of the auction was Saturday night, according to the Oct. 25, 1934, paper.  
“We want to thank the many friends and patrons who have been customers during the past two years. We are moving to Deadwood and hope that you will drop in to see us when you are there,” the Morrises said in the Nov. 8, 1934, issue. 
By Nov. 22, 1934, O.S. Cleveland was moving his bar and café from the Fendrick block to the former jewelry store. He made some changes and installed a lunch counter, electric stove and “improved his equipment in several ways.”
A few months later, the Jan. 24, 1935, paper reported that Ora Cleveland “disposed of his interest” to Clark Spencer of Omaha, who owned a café and nightclub there. Spencer said he would provide entertainment for his patrons. 
By March 16, 1935, Max Lamson obtained a liquor permit for the bar before he took over the business, naming it the Peerless bar (which eventually moved locations and became the modern-day Perkins Tavern). 
Excitement followed Morris at his new jewelry store in Deadwood when he and E.O. Lampinen of the neighboring gold manufacturing shop were robbed on March 16, according to the March 28, 1940, edition of the News Letter Journal. Wesley Sammeli, 26, pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary, and was “held to circuit court under $5,000 bond.” He was arrested on a Friday night and admitted to the crime after hours of questioning. He buried an estimated $3,000 to $3,500 worth of loot near Porter Lumber Co. but dug it up and buried it in the cellar of the home of Ernest Scroggin, who was unaware of the crime. 
On April 4, 1940, the paper further reported that Sammeli was sentenced to eight years in Sioux Falls state penitentiary by Circuit Judge Charles Hayes for grand larceny and two years for breaking and entering. The motive for the robbery, according to Sheriff Gregor Stewart, was that Sammeli had an “infatuation with a Deadwood woman who wanted money and jewels.” He was married with two kids but separated from his wife.
Around Feb. 25, 1943, the Peerless bar was sold to Tom Graham after Lamson had managed it for five years. Two years later, possession of the business went to Charles Grieves and H.A. Grieves on Nov. 26, according to the Nov. 29, 1945, paper.  
By Oct. 11, 1951, the building was no longer used as a bar. The paper announced that Joe Cummings and his wife (originally from Guernsey) were opening Cummings Ready to Wear store, which featured clothing and accessory items for women. Cummings was once a manager for the former Red Owl store in Newcastle and operated Golden Rule in Custer, South Dakota. 
That was not the only store moving into the building. The Oct. 25, 1951, issue of the paper reported that Hilda’s Beauty Shop was opening above Cummings’ store on the second floor. 
An article from Jan. 14, 1965, announced that the Cummingses (who now lived in Arvada, Colorado) sold their store to Lloyd and Jane Avery, who had been working with the business for several years. The name of the store was changed to Jane’s. 
Three years later, according to a report from April 25, 1968, the front of Jane’s store was being remodeled. Some of the updates included the windows and doors, as well as the mirror finish paneling and shadow paneling. Additionally, the windows on the upper story were being replaced with a stucco design. The article also noted that Ruth Collins (formerly Kinney) was still the owner of the building although the Averys owned the business. 
However, that changed, according to the Feb. 2, 1984, paper, which announced that Lloyd and Jane Avery had sold Jane’s Fashion Center to Tony, Darla and Ty Farella, effective Feb. 6. The Farellas also purchased the building, and the shop’s name was changed to Darla’s Fashions. Annette Newlin, who managed Jane’s for several years, was to still be the manager of the new store. The Averys were moving to Gillette to operate a women’s clothing store there.
In 1998, the building was destroyed by fire, according to Cash, and it was rebuilt in the 2000s, but it sits empty today. Next week, Cash will begin a new series on the Fawkes’ Drug Store.