Neisner's?
In case you've never heard of it (like me), Neisner's was a variety or "five and dime” store. The chain had downtown stores in Lorain and Elyria, as well as out at the O’Neil - Sheffield Center.
It first showed up in the Lorain City Directory as Neisner Brothers in the 1926 edition, making it a much older business than I thought. Its very last appearance in the 1963 directory, before the 332 Broadway address went vacant and the only Neisner’s listing was at O’Neil’s.
The Neisner's chain was acquired by Ames in the late 1970s.
As it turns out, Neisner's was peddling pretty much the same Halloween costumes in 1959 as Woolworth's, including Disney's Zorro and Mickey Mouse as well.
The lone TV-inspired costume is Felix the Cat. I’m sure you Baby Boomers remember him and his theme song. Did you know that Jack Mercer – the voice of Popeye – also did Felix on TV?
The Felix costume was pretty easy to find online.
This mask (below) was a little hard to find. Is that a pagoda on her head?
Like all clowns, this fireman is kind of creepy.
And although I couldn’t scare up a Moon Man costume on Ebay, I did find this photo of a kid wearing it. It looks a lot better than I thought it would.
I feel sorry for the little girl with the mask that doesn’t fit, although she doesn’t appear to mind!
