Of all the lost occupations that once existed in Bloomington, window trimmer must have been one of the most creative. In 1914, at the time of the first "Style Show" in downtown Bloomington, four pages of the paper were devoted to describing the windows of the downtown businesses and no less than thirteen window trimmers were mentioned by name. There were sixty businesses that participated in the gala event, all in the downtown area.
The image with this post is of the 1926 Ensenberger building, but of the stores in Bloomington the largest windows mentioned in the 1914 Style Show were those in "My Store," a large department store that existed at the intersection of Center and Grove Streets, when those streets intersected.
There were 52 feet of window displays at My Store and at least two window trimmers, Henry Johnson and Charles Schearer. In one window was a full bachelor's apartment with furnishings, clothing and a model.
Martens Leary had in its window a one horse wagon with horse and riders as well as an automobile, with a more modern and up to date couple, all depicted visiting the stores of downtown Bloomington. Woolworths had four windows decorated and featured every kind of merchandise available within the store: candies, music, dry goods, millinery, toilet articles and jewelry! GH Reads built a bathroom in one window, with a Negro boy in the bathtub. Ensenberger's display included a pair of drapes that were made by a local woman, Minnie Abrams, and it had taken her an entire year to make them. The value of the drapes was $100.
Window trimmers were mentioned in the Pantagraph as long ago as 1898 and as recently as 1958! Nowadays, a person who arranged the stock inside the store and at the window is called a visual merchandiser. Around the turn of the century the window trimmers had a national organization and at least two of the window trimmers from Bloomington attended their conventions in Chicago in 1898 and 1911. Vern Bracken of J.W. Rodgers Show Store won a cash prize in an international competition sponsored by Dr. Scholl's in 1921 and that year E H Bates of Klemm's won two prizes for his window designs, one from the National Veiling Association and another during National Silk week.
Hundreds of people would come out to see the window displays during the Style Shows, which occurred twice a year. The qualification of window trimmers were closely related to the place they last worked. Many of those mentioned in the Pantagraph had worked in Chicago, so of course they were very authoritative window fashion leaders. Window trimmers often studied interior decorating, or perhaps they learned on the job. As late as 1952, George Pernick was recognized for his ten years of service as a window trimmer at the Walgreen's in Bloomington.
The thirteen window trimmers mentioned in March of 1914 were: Glenn Roland (WH Rolands), George W Camp (Livingston & Sons), F W Sutton (Newman's), Charles Kozina (Klemms), F J Farrell (Livingston), Lewis Klein (Greisheim), Harry Kinsey & Frank Halen (Thoma & Sons), Abe Heldman (Sig. Feldman & Sons), Joseph Mullins (Robert F Epson Shoes), Charles Schearer & Henry Johnson (My Store) and H B Pacey (Kirkpatrick Home Furnishing).