Photos by Heather Ziegler Dorothy Vess looks over a menu from the Tea Room at the former Stone and Thomas store in downtown Wheeling where she worked for decades.

WHEELING — There was nothing like it — from its modern escalator to its famous Tea Room ice cream sodas.

That is the sentiment of some local residents who shopped and worked at Stone and Thomas department store during the heyday of retail in downtown Wheeling.

“It was like having a bit of New York City in downtown Wheeling,” said Dorothy Vess, who was a jack-of-all-trades for the now defunct Stone and Thomas business.

Last week, Elder-Beerman, the company that acquired the Stone and Thomas stores in 1998, announced it was closing its doors at the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville, marking the end of the last vestige of the Stone and Thomas legacy.

The news raised memories for many folks who said visits to Stone and Thomas meant good times in their youth and while raising families.

Vess, who lived in Cameron during her time with Stone and Thomas, started out working in the French Room, the posh clothing boutique where the well-heeled women of the area received one-on-one attention when buying a dress, gown or vacation attire.

From there, Vess made her way through various departments over her 20-year career, finishing as manager of the store at the Elm Terrace Shopping Center. Even her daughter, Jamie Crow, spent time working at Stone’s.

“Every day my husband (who worked at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel in Wheeling) and I drove from Cameron and dropped Jamie off at Mount de Chantal and then we went into town to work. We never missed a day of work. After school, Jamie would ride the public bus into town and work after school and on weekends at Stone’s,” Vess recalled.

Vess, now of Wheeling, has only praise for the Jones family who operated the store, calling them “caring people.” She said Wilbur Jones would ride the escalator each morning and look around every floor before heading into his office.

“They were my extended family. They never fired the older workers and they worked with you when you were raising a family. God bless them all,” Vess said.

Crow said she loved working in the juniors department where she recalls racks upon racks of color-coordinated Bobbie Brooks clothing. Bobbie Brooks operated a manufacturing business in Bellaire at the time.

“Stone’s was way ahead of its time with all the things those stores had. I think I even got my wedding invitations there,” Crow said.

The Tea Room at the downtown Stone’s store was a very popular place for a breakfast and lunch for shoppers and employees. Vess said people stood in line to get a seat at the Tea Room at lunch time.

Amanda Wakim of Wheeling said she and her four sons would head to Stone’s whenever they needed clothes or shoes.

“Two of my boys wore slims and Stone’s had clothes to fit them. That was important for me,” she said. “And we always stopped at the candy counter and we loved the sundaes in the Tea Room,” Wakim said.

Thelma Scott of Wheeling said her mother was terrified of the escalator — something new to Wheeling in those days.

“We always talked about the French Room but we couldn’t afford it. We took Mom to the store when she was getting remarried,” Scott said. “The escalator was new and she wouldn’t get on it. My kids thought that was so fun to be taking grandma to Stone’s to buy a wedding dress. They were only 8 or 10 years old. Those were good times.”

She remarked that at Christmas time, “If you bought even a pair of gloves, they were gift wrapped, put on a truck and delivered to your house.”

Phyllis Kosar of Wheeling worked in the gift wrapping department at Stone’s for nearly 20 years. She said it was a lot of fun and she enjoyed the friendships she made there.

“I just wanted a job to make some extra money for the holidays and ended up staying for almost 20 years,” Kosar said.

Shirley Milton of Wheeling said her mother really liked the store.

“She would say ‘There’s no other store like it.’ It was a real treat to go to the Tea Room with my mother. I loved the chicken salads,” Milton said.

Tradition had Milton taking her own children to Stone’s at Christmas time to see Santa Claus.

“And you got your picture taken with Santa,” she said.

Milton recalled the children’s shoe department had an interesting machine that measured children’s feet. It was quite a novelty for the children.

Gladys Van Horne, former life editor for the Wheeling News-Register, recalls going to the Wheeling Christmas parades and then rushing into Stone’s to shop. She also said the Teen Board at Stone’s provided positive work experience for area teen girls.

“They worked once a week and modeled for style shows,” Van Horne said.

She also noted the beautiful window displays at Stones and other downtown stores.