The Weiby's store came to Rainier when brothers Henry A. and Clint H. Weiby bought John Ruppraths' clothing store on September 17th 1946. The sale was a surprise, since Rupprath had just acquired the store the month before on August 7 from Isadore B. Lindeman. The Lindemans had been doing business in Rainier starting in 1913. Henry and Clint Weiby were already operating stores in Silverton and Beaverton, Oregon. The business was initially advertised as Weiby Bros. but by December 1946 the advertisements simply said Weiby's. Henry Weiby was in charge of the store until M. H. Woldahl arrived on October 3, 1946 to be their new manager. In the January 30, 1947 issue of the Rainier review it was announced that Weiby's would go through 8 weeks of remodeling. They were going to remove the side balconies and relocate the stairway to the rear balcony. Also, there would be more shelving and display tables. Woldahl left in the first weekend of April 1948 and returned to Silverton where he had family. He continued employment at the Weiby's store there. Mel Riveness, who was at the Weiby's store in Silverton, came to Rainier to take his place. Mel married Elsie Skirvin on January 4, 1949 and she jointly managed the store with him. They had one son James Rivenes born October 9 1954. There were many employees who over the years worked for Mel and Elsie. One was Golda Measor (*) who was working for Lindeman when John Rupprath bought the store and continued on at Weiby's until her death in a auto accident on November 6, 1974. In the mid 1980s the Weiby's store closed.
(*) Golda Measor along with her husband Arthur (Art) ran the Measor's Confectionery and Grocery store between 1929 and 1940. The store sat on the North side of highway 30 in Rainier, opposite West 4th St. The store changed hands several times with Jack Brusco being the last owner when it was destroyed by fire on June 8, 1972.
Other references: Contact me at Clarkmikew@aol.com for any questions Copyright 2017 |
