Morris Novelty Trick or Treat

Photo, and much of the inspiration for this post, belongs to
http://retrori.blogspot.com/2009/12/morris-novelty-shop.html

sweet Amy,
Gertrude and Morris'
granddaughter,
my former sister-in-law

Morris, and Gertrude Karklin of Providence Rhode Island were my grandparents-in-law.  They were amazing grandparents, and their business was fascinating.

We loved visiting them, Sheila, Amy, Andrew and me.  Morris Novelty had been around for decades, they started the business in 1939 and by the 1980s in the nooks and crannies of that vast place treasures were to be found, like antique novelties that were stamped 'Made in Occupied Japan' or 'Made in Occupied Germany', and other places around the world.  The warehouse was the size of a football field, totally disorganized to the untrained eye, and there were three levels of shelving that were piled high.  Cats roamed the place and kept it moused. 

A long time ago

(I wrote a poem about Morris Novelty but lost literally everything in Andrew's and my divorce over a decade later...most egregiously lost my voluminous journaling.)  Miles of Aisles of Piles.

Morris unfortunately died suddenly in the 80s, I think he was in his 70s, and his beloved Gertrude followed him 6 months later of a broken heart.  Their middle daughter of three, my mother-in-law Sheila, commuted with us to Pawtucket that year to do whatever we could to help Gertrude...

When Morris and Gertrude weren't working in the store they were traveling to all the carnivals along the shore, to stores, and flea markets.  Their novelties spanned the entire year of holidays so something was always in season, including birthdays, weddings, bar mitzvahs, and every other special occasion, that were always in need of decorations, table settings and what have you.  Halloween was a specialty.

My mom Sharon and Sheila at the Arboretum
Jamaica Plain

Morris was a kind man with a sense of humor.  I wish I had some photos of them.  He liked to help folks out with merchandise on credit even when they could not pay.  He had his route, Gertrude always by his side, singing songs with us in the old station wagon on those long day-trips visiting all those folks' businesses.  We spent many holidays with Bubbie and Zadie.  They were my family, the family that I had craved since we had to leave my father's family in Italy, and then here in the states my mother's father died, back in the 60s.


Rhode Island Novelty is kind of a modern version of Morris Novelty, but is missing the character and patina.
[ https://www.rinovelty.com/ ]

Me, Reagan, John, Andrew
with some of Morris Novelty's
more racey items for sale, late 80s

My first husband Andrew and I were in our teens/early twenties, lived in Sheila's home on Cherry Street just outside of Porter Square, and we did the Monday through Saturday trek through Boston's Southeast Expressway and on to Pawtucket, R.I. in our brown Toyota Corolla wagon with a 5 speed manual tranny.  That car was stoved in on both front fenders, and drove like a bat out of hell.

Sheila adored her parents and did everything she could to help run the business during the tragedy.  After the unconscionable loss of both of them, she did her best to run Morris Novelty, most of which on the business end was lost to Morris' memory and proved a great challenge to us, until the business could be sold.

The several employees who had been working there most of their long lives thought differently, that it was they who should inherit Morris Novelty, and not the Karklin's three daughters...Sheila's elder sister lived in Connecticut and her younger sister lived in Pennsylvania.  I think.  And the sisters were both well off already and were totally unsupportive of Sheila.  They wanted her to just let it go, to just let the employees have it.

But, we hung in there through the turmoil, and the sale turned out ok.

That magical place that was Morris Novelty for so many years eventually sold, to our sad and exhausted relief, and seemed to do well for a 25 more years or so.

Sheila at my parent's home
on holiday

Sheila was Abbie's first wife.  I didn't know who he was when I became friends with Amy, then with Andrew, but he became the elephant in the room after a few years.  I just knew that Sheila, her parents and her kids accepted me for who I was, pretty much, a crazy, mixed up kid, and they became family. 

I just learned that Abbie's grandfather was also named Morris.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/r/raskin-hell.html

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular - Roger Williams Park Zoo
augustmac
Nov 2, 2012
https://youtu.be/7GhRpQB9xEA

I am saddened to just now learn that Morris Novelty burned down in 2011. 
http://www.city-data.com/forum/rhode-island/2511290-ri-places-no-longer-there-6.html
http://www.artinruins.com/arch/?id=decay&pr=morrisnovelty

Morris Novelty Fire, Pawtucket
https://youtu.be/Aze6LtbpI5A