Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond Du Lac From Early Times to the Present, Personal Reminiscences, Remarkable Events, Election Results, Military History, Etc.

              DEALERS IN DRY GOODS
Who Have Been the Dealers in Dry Goods From the Earliest Times
to the Present.    History of the Trade in
Fond du Lac.
When we say that the first dry goods sold in Fond du Lac were sold in the first building erected here, the Fond du Lac House, near the corner of Johnson and Brooke streets, we might also say that the first hats and caps, boots and shoes, hardware, groceries, etc., were also sold there, as the first store, that of Clock & Weikert, was a general store, as were also all of the first stores here, which means that they kept a little of everything needed in a new settlement. Their advertisements in the newspapers used to* read dry goods, groceries, hardware, crockery, boots and shoes, hats and caps, tin¬ ware, cordage, etc. The sale of some of these articles was continued in the dry goods stores many years after special stores were estab¬ lished. A store with only dry goods in it was not known in Fond du Lac until Mr. Whittelsey came here from New York and went into business with John Sharpe. Until this time all of them kept a few staple groceries and ladies shoes. Before the special stores came, the customer could get about all he wanted at one store, yet the stocks were not especially large as the variety in any one line was so much less than it is now. The customer was content with what he could get, for he knew nothing about great variety. Of the dress goods now displayed in the dry goods stores for the ladies to select from, were wholly unknown—they were not in existence. The present status of the trade is a matter of growth, especially in the last thirty years. Of our present merchants, only Mr. Whittelsey and M. Wagner have had personal knowledge of the changes.
It was during and after the war of the rebellion that the people's wants became so great that the efforts of manufacturers and dealers were strained to meet them. During the war period and for some years after, money flowed freely and fortunes were made rapidly. As Josh Billings once said, "people bored holes with big augers." Enormous strides were made in the direction of extravagance, and we are hardly out of the course yet. In 1905 we may have made some progress in economy of living, but people of the pioneer period would look upon us of today as in the highest degree extravagant. We must admit that there is room for the practice of economy, es-