Employees recall ‘class operation’
West Springfield – As they sat at a table at Bertucci’s yesterday afternoon, Robert M. Lombardi asked Charles M. Johnson about the family business that became a Springfield landmark.
“What do you think about the store becoming a Kinko’s?” Lombardi asked.
“I just heard about it,” Johnson said.
The men were among a group of 17 people who came to the restaurant for the 10th annual Johnson’s Book Store reunion, a confab of those who worked at the Main Street store that has been closed for a decade.
“After it was announced that Johnson’s would be closing, a number of us promised each other we would stay in touch,” said West Springfield resident Linda E.A. Porter, who has been the driving force behind the annual gatherings.
Johnson’s was founded May 1, 1893, and called three Main Street addresses home before settling in 1909 into its final location at 1379 Main St.. Johnson’s was a place where consumers could buy new and used books, but there was so much more: office supplies, art supplies, gift cards, records and toys.
Johnson’s was also a place where customers could go into a room and listen to a record they might want to buy; where employees would call the closest competitor if Johnson’s didn’t have something a customer wanted right now; where signs on every counter in the gift shop read: “please handle anything.”
At its peak in the 1950s, 125 people worked at Johnson’s – double that number during the holidays.
