Vogel's & Foster's

Vogel's and Foster's. Men's and Women's Stores Reunited. , In 1932 Vogel's and Foster's celebrated their 60th anniversary. At this time interior and exterior renovations were completed. An alley window opening on the north side of the building was replaced with solid brick. The following year, Ed Vogel died and his daughter Helen Vogel took over ownership. This arrangement lasted until 1945 when Dallas Wurster took in Bob Foster as his new partner. , , Helen Vogel remained in the north store selling women's clothing by Vogel's store, and the south store selling men's clothing by Wurster-Foster Co. Both stores, although separate, maintained the open interior archway with a vintage 1911 water fountain shared in the passageway. Another feature on the main floor was a brass cage office used for more than thirty years by Ella Barber the store's bookkeeper, and correspondent to The Chelsea Standard newspaper. Foster changed the men's store name to Foster's Men's Wear after Wurster's death in 1950. , , Helen Vogel and Bob Foster are to this day remembered by many Chelsea residents. Helen displayed her merchandise and dry goods on tables, and in old wood and glass display cases. Helen also served her customers from stacks of individual clothing boxes. She had a keen eye for selecting correct sizes and suggesting matching accessories. Bob Foster was known for his kind personality. In the 1970s he allowed utilization of the basement for horseshoe game tournaments with Jackson and surrounding small town clubs. A painted sign once hung at the back basement entrance: "Chelsea Horseshoe Pits." , , Jack and Friedelle Winans bought the Vogel's store when Helen Vogel died in 1973. Bob Foster retired in 1977 and sold the Foster's store to the Winans's who reunited the two stores into one business as it was when owned by Dallas Wurster and Ed Vogel forty-four years earlier. During Winans's extensive renovation, cast iron pillars were exposed under the aluminum panels. Architects discovered the original entrance to Foster's was in the center of the building. To keep the store historic, interior changes were minimal. Jack and Friedelle Winans added a line of children's and infant clothing, and continued to offer fine apparel for the entire family under the name of Vogel's and Foster's, Inc. , , Mike Jackson purchased the business in 1994, and later the two buildings. Jackson inherited the old creaky hardwood floors, and has kept the atmosphere of an old-fashioned clothing store. An antique Holmes Mercantile safe, and ceiling fans give an added ambience to the store. Jackson brought in new popular name brand clothing and sportswear, accessories, shoes and jewelry. , , McManus Studio , Ernest E. Shaver ran this photographic gallery from 1877 to 1918. Many portraits of Chelsea's residents, from infants to old age, were taken there. Shaver carried all types of cards and sizes from Cabinet, Opera, Victoria, Yale and Forum. In the early 1900s, Shaver leased a few more rooms that were occupied by Nellie Maroney's millinery "hat" shop. In 1918 James D. McManus bought the Shaver studio and operated it for the next 30 years. McManus served on the village council, and was noted for raising silver black foxes on his ranch as a side industry. McManus put in new hardwood floors and installed camera equipment that easily allowed any photograph to be enlarged, reduced, or color tinted. The studio was later purchased by local photographer Vern Otto.