by Debbie Norrell, Lifestyles Editor
For months I have thought about going to the 50-year celebration of Monroeville Mall. It was on Saturday, May 18. Unfortunately I had an event to cover that was right on the mall property. I guess the smart thing for me to do would have been to stop by the mall before the event and not wait and go after. Of course everything has a time frame and nothing is going to wait on me.
I’m thinking for the 50th anniversary of a big mall that needs all the positive publicity it can get, the celebration should have gone on all day. Reportedly the event was to feature family-friendly entertainment, such as photos with superheroes and princesses, face painting, a DJ, cookie sales for charity, vendors and giveaways. I saw a lot of vendors and Claire’s had a stuffed bear that was walking around and seemed very friendly. The information that I could find said the pictures and main events were to last until 6 p.m. I got to the mall before 5 p.m. and it was very quiet. But I took a walk from one end to another and picked up the items that were on my list.
I am old enough to have seen several local malls shut their doors. Remember Eastland Mall and what about Century III? Who would have thought they would be totally closed. I was hoping when I got to Monroeville Mall I would see decorations all over the mall and I thought stores would have giveaways and coupons. I wanted it to be like a carnival. I did see two balloons by an empty table. One balloon was a five, the other a zero in gold.
It was all so sad. This was the mall that I grew up with. I remember the grand opening. It was where I had my second, third and fourth jobs. My second job was at Toyco on the lower level and then I worked at the Ormond Shop as well, Susan Ives Ups and Downs and for a short period of time I worked at Horne’s in Monroeville Mall. I come from the era when the mall had an ice skating rink and sold these great hot dogs right outside of the rink. There was not a food court. The mall had great stores and at that time shootings at the mall were unheard of. People did not just drop their kids off at the mall back in the seventies. When I was walking around last Saturday I saw a lot of empty storefronts.
One of the jobs that I have always wanted to have was the event planner for a mall. Back in the day there used to be fashion shows in the mall, entertainment and lots of fun. That is all the job of the event planner. The mall was like the town square. I wish those activities would make a comeback. Let’s hope that Monroeville Mall will be around for a while longer. “I’ll do my part.”
(Email Debbie at debbienorrell@aol.com.)
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