The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003 Page: 90
675 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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90 Southwestern Historical Quarterly July
Most of all, he disliked seeing clerks sitting down. This rule was difficult,
however, as he was not a strict disciplinarian. And repeatedly, we were
exhorted to "know our stock" so as not to delay or miss sales. In the same
vein, we were encouraged to "show older or slow-moving stock first"
rather than going directly to newly arrived merchandise. "There's a cus-
tomer out there for every slow-moving item," was a frequent reminder of
his. Occasionally he would have us reposition counters, or perhaps move
a department to an aisle across the store. Then, to my surprise, both cus-
tomers and clerks would perceive an enlivened environment-and
exclaim about it.
Lanier's style was both frugal and progressive. Having worked with him
in the depth of the depression, I was privy to this inside frugality. "Son,
when you wrap a box of shoes, try not to waste paper or string." And in
about 1932, with the advent of Scotch tape: "This is wonderful stuff, but
the manufacturer has a monopoly. Don't use more than you need." Lights
were turned off in the rear of the store until needed to show merchandise
in that area. But, as will be documented later, Lanier was first in his com-
munity with air conditioning and other customer-comfort installations.
There is no doubt that Lanier loved his vocation. He worked hard for
six days each week, and then frequently had migraines on Sundays, but
not to exclude our regular Sunday school and church attendance.
Regarding vacations, per se, I remember but two with the family during
our nine-year stay at Jacksonville. Rarely, Lanier would take his entire
family with him to Dallas to market; and perhaps on two or three occa-
sions during our Jacksonville stay we made short visits to relatives in East
Texas. It was the family's impression, however, that even these limited
diversions were more for our needs than his own.
As might be inferred from the above, Julian Lanier pursued no hob-
bies. Neither did he join civic clubs, play golf, nor fish nor hunt with any
regularity. Rather, he was thoroughly engrossed in business. It seems
that every night and weekend I heard shop talk at home, enough to prej-
udice me against retailing as a career. Also, our family's celebration of
Christmas and other major holidays was subordinate to business
demands. Therefore, since the Christmas season, and especially
Christmas Eve, was always the busiest time of the year, we never celebrat-
ed then nor visited out-of-town relatives at that time. For us children,
this was painful, since many of our friends were visiting relatives and
enjoying holiday festivities while our family was struggling to make a dif-
ference in the year's profits. My father would say, "This is the season that
determines whether you have a good business year or not."
Two precautionary practices concerning our store safe and cash regis-
ter come to mind. Lanier typically left the door of his safe ajar overnight,
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003, periodical, 2003; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101223/m1/118/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.