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Why
NORDSTROM!
In 1887, a 16-year-old boy left
his home country of Sweden for the promise of New York City. He arrived
with only five dollars in his pocket, unable to speak a word of English.
His name? John W. Nordstrom.
The first years in the land of
opportunity were hard. To make ends meet, young John labored in mines and
logging camps as he crossed the United States to California and
Washington. Then one morning in 1897, he picked up a newspaper and read
the front-page headline "Gold Found in the Klondike in Alaska."
The very next day, he made plans to head north.
Things were no easier in the
Klondike. The labor was hard, the terrain difficult, and there was an
over-supply of eager workers. But within two years, John had earned
$13,000 in a gold mine stake and returned to Seattle.
Back in the Northwest, John was
eager to invest his money. He had befriended a man while in Alaska, Carl
Wallin, who owned a shoe repair shop in downtown Seattle. It wasn't long
before the two decided to go into partnership and open a shoe store
together...
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