If there’s anything Harry Thetford knows more about than the United States military, it’s definitely Sears.
After his service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Thetford spent 29 years of his life working for Sears.
The recurring comments of its inevitable fate often make him look back at those days.
Mr. Thetford applied to work for Sears in 1960, right after he graduated from the then Missouri Southern State College.
His first application is still intact in a binder protected by a clear insert, the green ink from his pen almost as fresh as his memories of the people he worked with.
“It’s where America shopped,” Thetford shared. “We were merchant to the millions.”
Other binders are filled with newspaper clippings of the grand opening of the Friendly Avenue Sears, the retail store’s fourth location in the city, where he served as Store Manager.
“In 1976, I came to Greensboro, North Carolina and I’ve been here ever since.
Over the years, friends and family have added to Mr. Thetford’s collection, including vintage catalogues and other Sears memorabilia from before his own time.
Thetford jokes that his fascination for collecting old school Sears things makes him a hoarder, but when you look through the binders and everything else he’s collected, you realize it’s more of what a historian or librarian would do with such things.
“I have a lot of photos and a lot of memorabilia from years past that truly will just be history,” he said.
Thetford retired from the company in 1990, just 3 years before the big Kmart-Sears merger.
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“It’s like cancer,” Thetford said. “Like losing a soulmate.”
In October, Sears Holdings announced 142 store closings in addition to the ones closed prior, with three in North Carolina.
The company announced it would be closing another 40 stores in November in an effort to survive Chapter 11 bankruptcy, affecting 29 Sears and 11 Kmart locations.
Though Thetford’s beloved workplace on Friendly Avenue wasn’t on the list, the Sears in Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem was, with Novant Health announcing plans to but the store for a state-of-the-art urgent care center.
We asked Terri Jones, General Manager at Holly Hill Mall in Burlington about the future of their Sears store.
“Sears is still a valued tenant here at Holly Hill Mall. They are currently in a lease agreement and we have not received ANY word from the corporate office concerning them closing this location,” Jones said in an email.
Stacey Keating, Director of Public Relations and Corporate Communication with CBL Properties, the owner of Friendly Center said the company is monitoring “the situation with Sears very closely.”
“While we cannot speculate on the future of Sears, should there be an impact to the store at Friendly Center, we would work with the owner on redevelopment plans that would elevate the building into a more productive use for the property,” Keating added.
Sears last chance for potential buyers to come forward with bids is Friday which will decide if the company survives or will be liquidated.
WFMY News 2 reached out to Sears. The company declined to comment.