Elma Seward, 1921-2010

From EJSeward

Early and often, things posted here were from a trip taken with my mom. Or things she had kept.

This Wednesday the 20th, she passed away.

Much as it's been for my brother who died February last year, this blog is an extended remembrance of the world in which she lived.

From EJSeward

ye olde Tinder Box

Revisiting a post at That Mall's Sick And That Store's Dead! about the old Newmarket North mall, I recalled still having this stuff from the Tinder Box that was there three decades ago.

Pipe cleaners . . .



Pipe . . .



Everything but the three decade old pipe tobacco. (Huh . . .)

A closeup of the pipe's Tinder Box label:



Another view of the bag:

Long Gone Away

This homebrew music video uses some stills from the Night Wanderer post and one of the razed Walnut Mall lot. And an unblogged photo of the Coliseum Mall demolition.

Plus Super-8 footage circa 1998 of the so-called ghost house in my old neck of the woods and other area bits & pieces.

Like Pons Store or the James River seen from Hog Island.

recent and not so recent

The Smithfield Times kindly shares a few of the sights and sounds from this year's Pork, Peanut and Pine Festival.

Think it's been quite a while since I went.

Meantime, here are some images of cool old newspaper ads someone was good enough to post on Flickr.

Includes old Leggett, Home Quarters Warehouse, Circuit City, Revco and Roses ads. So check it out.

your handwriting analyzed

Well, actually, as mentioned long ago, my handwriting (digitally scrubbed away):


Analyzed circa 1971 by a computer set up in Mercury Plaza in Hampton.


While one or two out of the five results were somewhere in the ballpark, the others were pretty off base:


I had just learned cursive lettering (and have since sworn off of it).

key rings long ago

Hee Haw



Gwaltney Ham, now a brand of Smithfield Foods.



This one actually saw some use.


A souvenir from a visit to the NASA Langley Research Center back in the 1970s.




First Union

more of the less-Bennigan's, Steak & Ale

That Mall's Sick And That Store's Dead! (aka Sickmalls) posts photos of a Bennigan's and a Steak & Ale. Evidently, I'm not alone in wearing a black armband for Butters.

Not being much of a theme restaurant goer, I find my interest is more about how these places become landmarks in current and (later on) remembered space. These two are on the outskirts of what was Coliseum Mall, Hampton VA.

Home Quarters Warehouse

More old receipts, these from the Home Quarters Warehouse that was in the now long gone Mercury Plaza on Mercury Blvd. in Hampton VA. The receipt above is from 1990 (over 18 years ago). The one below from 1995 is shown in detail only with accompanying details from the delivery slip.










UPDATE August 2008: Found the following HQ tag:




UPDATE July 2009: A Flickr friend posted this cool old HQ newspaper ad from 1995.

And as of August '09: same Flickr friend posted this image of the Hampton HQ store from a newspaper clipping.

hangers and bags

More hasty photos, this time of coat hangers and suit bags.


Click the photo below for a closer look at a hanger from The Hub ("Tidewater's Most Popular Stores").

JC Penney

Here's a fairly old item from JC Penney.



Below are pics of a fairly recent JC Penney gift box. (Look In The Tunk has posted some Polaroids of the former Coliseum Mall store.)

says yes

I was out of the area by the time the Rices Nachmans department store chain had been absorbed by Hess's. There was a store in Warwick Village, but my mom likely got these shopping at the one in Coliseum Mall.

totally stuck