Shopping, lunch at O.T. Johnson's a treat for many

Memories of O.T. Johnson's

Friday, January 27, 2006

I grew up and spent all my life in Galesburg until moving to California in 1997. O.T. Johnson's is such a central part of my memories of living there that I am really saddened by the news of the fire last Monday morning. We spent many, many Saturdays eating lunch at the wonderful O.T.'s restaurant. They had the most delicious barbecue beef sandwiches and the donuts tasted like they'd descended from Heaven. I remember buying the first hardcover book that I'd saved up the money for at the bookstore on the mezzanine - it began a lifetime addiction to bookstores which continues to this day. When I began my first "real" job as a secretary at the Galesburg City Hall in the late 1960's, my workmates, Janice Lewis and Terry Clark and I would go to O.T.'s for lunch and squeeze in a little shopping and then make a mad dash down Cherry Street to get back to work on time. Janice and Terry both died in recent years, but I fondly remember our lunchtimes together. My younger sister and I loved the cosmetics department on the ground floor - with the wonderful scent of bath products and perfumes. We bought our first color TV at O.T.'s and my husband and I shopped in the toy department for my daughter Jennifer's first Christmas - she still has the often-repaired Teddy Bear we bought that first year. When I moved to California, I started working at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Here I discovered a strange O.T. Johnson's coincidence. The turn-of-the-century building I work in is named the Johnson Building and when doing some research on past benefactors to the college I found out that it is named after the very same O.T. Johnson. After selling his businesses in Galesburg, it seems that O.T. came west and became quite wealthy investing in the booming Los Angeles construction industry and became a major contributor to Occidental College. Yes, I will miss O.T.'s - as I can still hear my dear mother's voice saying, "let's go eat lunch at O.T.'s." - Judith Squires, Burbank, Calif.

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Like a lot of people, I also have happy memories of O.T.'s. My grandmother was also a clerk at O.T.'s in the early 1900's. When I was a child, my mother took me to the grand opening of the store after it was remodeled, and we were two of the first 10 people in the door that day.

The cosmetics department was inside the front door to the left. There were swivel chairs at the end of the counter, and my friends and I would go there to talk and swivel a while.

There wasn't a downtown restaurant more popular than the one at O.T.'s. During the lunch hour, there would be a crowd of people waiting in line for a table, and some would ask the people sitting at the tables if they could sit with them because they had a limited lunch break.

In the early 1970's, they built a walled-in room on the east wall of the second floor, and they called it "The Spot." It contained the Junior Department, and it had an area in back with a table and chairs, a pop machine and a jukebox. My friends and I would hang out up there, and we would also buy a few school clothes.

One more memory I have is around Christmas when I was in one of the high school choirs, Mr. Hegg had us singing Christmas songs in front of O.T.'s. - Nola Dykeman

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I was so sad to hear about the fire in Galesburg. Although I haven't lived in Galesburg for many years, I still see Galesburg as my hometown. I have many fond memories of living in Galesburg and keep up on current events through my parents and sister who still reside there. I like to make it a ritual to drive through downtown when I visit. I have always felt pride in the fact Galesburg's downtown has the feel of a downtown of days of old.

My sister e-mailed me about the fire and sent pictures. I felt devastated to see the pictures of the O.T. Johnson store. My memory of the O.T. Johnson store goes back to when I was a student of Lombard Junior High back before McDonald's was a place to hang out with friends. I can remember on Saturdays walking downtown and going to the restaurant in the back of the store with a friend or with my younger sister. I used to feel so grown up to go and order a BBQ sandwich and fries with drink on the side. The people who worked at the store were always so nice. I remember taking the elevator and at the time it felt a lot like a big cities to have an elevator operator.

I hope the owner of the property decides to rebuild and pay respect to the feel of the downtown area of Galesburg.

One thing seems to remain; your hometown always remains your hometown. - Virginia (Ginny) (Banks) Kerr, GHS class of '77, Urbandale Iowa