Musings: The Sonoma merchants who made shopping memorable

(Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a now five-part series looking back at the holidays in Sonoma).

I was born in Sonoma Valley and, for most of my school years, lived within a few blocks of the Plaza. To this day, it is an easy, 10-minute walk from our house to our usual entry point at the corner of First Street East and East Napa Street where the spirits of Sonoma’s past congregate most heavily.

There were no major department stores like Macys or shopping malls within 60 miles of Sonoma in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, but many of the folks on our Plaza who met the shopping needs of Sonomans still stand out in my memory.

Ralph and Harold Hotz catered to Sonoma’s women at Hotz’s Department store (where Pangloss Cellars is today). Diagonally across the corner on First Street East, Dave and Don Eraldi, offered everything for boys and men from shoes and socks to pants, shirts and jackets.

They, and other Sonoma Plaza business owners of the time were locals themselves. You never just went in and bought something without them asking how you were, or how the kids were doing, or discussing the latest town happenings. In fact, the conversations usually lasted far longer than the transactions. Even as a youngster, I felt welcomed, especially during the holiday season.

Harold and Ralph Hotz were born in Sonoma, attended local schools and, for several decades, ran the store that was established a generation before by their father.

Harold learned the women’s clothing trade working in the wholesale market in San Francisco before joining brother Ralph in the family business.

My mother and grandmother shopped at Hotz’s on a regular basis, especially when Harold called and let them know he had a new shipment in. During Christmas season, Hotz’s ran an ad in the I-T that announced “Gentlemen, we will help you with her gifts.” Harold helped me pick out the first Christmas gift I ever bought for my mom.

The Hotz brothers were leaders in promoting shopping locally and were known for their involvement in community activities including fund-raisers and celebrations.

Dave and Don Eraldi were equally involved in local activities, especially sports. They’d taken over the men’s store started by their father, also named Dave. Both were outstanding local athletes, participated on town teams, and led the town’s effort to build Arnold Field.

You never had to guess if your gift-wrapped package under the tree was from Eraldi’s. Any item purchased there was imbued with the scent of tobacco. Morning and afternoon, there was always a cigar in Dave’s mouth.

Next door to Eraldi’s, August Pinelli operated Mission Hardware, a classic hometown hardware store, crammed on the second story roof with just about everything one might need for yard and home, from hammers and nails to dishes, refrigerators and washing machines. If he didn’t have it stock, August made a determined, and usually successful, effort to order it for you. He’d show you his wholesale price, promising to add only 10% as his profit.

Simmons Pharmacy (where Chico’s is today) offered Sonomans the convenience of picking up their prescriptions while shopping, and, if they had the time, they could enjoy have a cup of coffee or, better yet, a chocolate sundae or milkshake while seated at the store’s classic marble-top soda fountain.

Clearly and anachronism in the middle of that block was Bob Robinson’s cigar shop and pool hall (where the Plaza Shops complex is now). I remember Bob as a friendly guy with a small dog named “Tip” who greeted everyone who walked by.

Next door, Charlie and Rita MacDonald operated a jewelry and watch-repair business.

Of course, there were other merchants along that block and other streets on the Plaza, and even now, as I walk there, I’ll recall a face, and sometimes a name, of someone who greeted me from their storefront a half-century or more ago. To me, it is still a welcoming, familiar and friendly place, especially when the spirits of Sonoma past call out even if I’m the only one who hears them.

(Next time: Maybe a few more excursions into the dusty recesses of my memory.)