YOUNGSTOWN — Michael A. Weinberger loved growing up in Youngstown in the 1950s, and shopping and working downtown with his family at Strouss-Hirshberg department store.

This Memorial Day, he wants to share with readers a family artifact from Youngstown’s retail glory days — a poster showing how the store honored many of its employees when they were away fighting in World War II.

“I spent much of my youth roaming various floors of Strouss with my mother, as my father was a buyer for the company and thus Strouss became our family’s preferred department store of choice,” recalled Weinberger, formerly of Liberty and now living in Atlanta.

One of the items the family preserved from inside the Youngstown store dates from the war and features pictures of employees called to serve in the armed forces. He sent a copy of the poster to The Vindicator, and asked the newspaper if it could be shared.

“It is a once-in-a-lifetime history lesson for many of us who want to remember our veterans with great love and respect for all they’ve done,” he said.

Weinberger had the opportunity to work at Strouss-Hirshberg for several years from his mid-20s into his early 30s. He came to know a number of the older employees, realizing many of them had been with the company for more than 35 years — and all of them knew his father.

“What I didn’t know was how many of them took part in the second World War,” he said in a letter to The Vindicator.

“My father had been employed by Strouss-Hirshberg from its earliest years starting in about 1920. He too was inducted into the Army to fight the forces of evil that were ravaging our world at that point in time. My mother was a hair stylist (Lewis, Weinberger and Hill) and worked for a period of time in the beauty salon at the department store in the ’40s.”

While there, she acquired the

pictorial poster that Strouss-Hirshberg created to honor the individuals who worked there and were fighting in the war.

“I have great cause to believe I have the only surviving copy of this historical document and would be remiss if I did not do everything possible within my means to pass on this testament to my fellow Youngstown and Warren family,” Weinberger said in his letter.

“As I scanned through the many faces on the poster I recognized many of the gentlemen (his father included), for as I said previously I had the privilege of working with several of them during my tenure at the department store.”

Now he said he hopes that readers will likewise find the faces and names of friends, relatives or loved ones (now deceased) “whom you may have known or perhaps long since forgotten. I know when I look at the poster it brings me a great deal of joy to know that I had the honor of knowing and working in tandem with these, the silent and brave heroes of our time.”

Weinberger noted that he has “an old fraternity buddy” who grew up in Youngstown, and whose father had owned a very profitable cabinet business in its day.

“I showed him my letter, which prompted him to purchase a military medallion that he could affix to his father’s burial vault. He was inspired to do something special in remembrance of his father’s service.

“So I guess if there is an epilogue to this story, it is that: ‘These soldiers represent only a very small portion of the thousands of men and women who lived and worked in our community and served our country during this time and perhaps seeing these pictures might inspire other families to do something special in remembrance of their war heroes this memorial day weekend.”

Weinberger said Youngstown and its surrounding area will always be home.

“I am proud of the history of the city and the men and women who helped create the environment, which made growing up in our city so special. I guess that in sharing this poster with my community, I am fulfilling some pledge not only to honor them but remind myself to never forget these individuals, their sacrifices and to honor the history of our great city.”

The company was founded as Strouss-Hirshberg Co. by Isaac Strouss and Bernard Hirshberg in the late 1800s, and eventually became the leading department store in the Greater Youngstown area. But in 1986, under ownership of the May Co., it was decided to consolidate the Strouss division into Kaufmann’s and May promptly shut down many of its former locations in 1987. It had been at 20 W. Federal St. downtown, in the building that 20 Federal Place now occupies.

“In those days we didn’t have malls so we often looked forward to the weekends and shopping downtown,” Weinberger recalled. “It was always an adventure to visit the city and roam though Strouss, enjoying the vast array of inventory each floor had to offer.”

Strouss also had a store in downtown Warren, and a presence at the Eastwood Mall for many years. It also had several other branch stores in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys.

twills@tribtoday.com