Remembering Christmas and Gene's Radio Shop in Wallace

I was reading an obituary the other day about the passing of a Wallace lady whom I remember quite well as a clerk in several Wallace retail shops. One of the shops was Gene's Radio, later on it became a Gambles. When I reflect on Christmas memories of my childhood, Gene's Radio Shop is always the first store to come to mind.

Gene's was first located up by the Wilma Theater, and was not much more than a hole in the wall, but it was stocked full of wonderful merchandise. My brother and I bought our first  airplane models to put together from Gene's Radio. Then, expansion came, and Gene's Radio moved down Cedar Street to the middle of town. It was here that my more vivid  memories take shape. For, it was here, that the latest 45 and 33 1/3 PRM albums could be found.Gene's Gambles, as it was now called, was very well stocked with records for being in a small town like Wallace.

Records were not the only types of merchandise that Gene's carried. Gene's Gambles was loaded with toys, furniture, washer and dryers, televisions, model trains, and thousands of other items. I loved going into that store during the Christmas shopping season. Most of the gifts, other than clothes, that I got in my early years came from that store.

One of the coolest things about Gene's was that on New Year's Day, Gene would open the store up so that the locals could come in and watch the Rose Bowel on color television. What a treat that was! My brother and I would had down there every year to watch a game in "living color".

Well, this was not an exciting blog today, but I just wanted to share my memories of Gene's Radio Shop. I wish that it was still there.