As A Kid, I Couldn’t Have Imagined This Brand EVER Going Away

When I was a kid in the south suburbs of the Twin Cities, JC Penney was THE place to shop for clothes. They had a massive selection of Levi's, a robust sports/jersey section and a good variety of clothes for all ages.

My grandma essentially lived at the store and if she went more than a week without putting something on her 'Penneys Card,' a search party was sent out to make sure she was well. We went there every year, first stop, when back-to-school shopping.

When I became old enough to drive, I headed to the Burnsville Mall and turned in my application for my first 'big-boy' job: JC Penney. I was -very- interested in getting an employee discount and wanted to show my parents that I was responsible enough to have a job three cute girls from my school worked there.

I got hired to work in the young men's department, which meant I spent 4-6 hours a day folding Silvertab jeans, then refolding them five minutes later after some teen and their grandma unfolded all of them.

I used my first 'employee discount' to buy an unreal purple Randy Moss jersey during his rookie season. It was only $24 after the discount and I still wear it today, 27 years later!

At its peak, JC Penney boasted 2,053 stores before seeing its stock drop by 2/3rds due to the 1974 recession. Today, there are about 650 locations but they are about to become fewer- the company announced that eight more stores would soon be closing in California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, North Carolina, New Hampshire and West Virginia.

As of now, the St. Cloud (and Burnsville) stores are safe, but the writing is on the wall when it comes to the iconic brands of my childhood. Sears, KMart, Toys 'R' Us... the list goes on and on.