Window Trimmer

I lived in Hazard from 1939 until 1948. Hazard got a radio station and an airport at about the same time, so we thought we had hit the big time. The Singing Miner was on the air about then and Hazard even had a big-time radio star. We lived on Lyttle Blvd, then moved to Cedar Street. My father, Julian Murrill, owned Julian's Department Store, located next to People's Bank on Main Street.

This is a window display at my father's store around 1947. It had a single showcase that was designated the "jewelry department." There were departmens for men's and women's clothing and a shoe department in the back. It was not a large store. Clothing styles have changed.

My father started out in retail clothing when he worked at Wolfe-Wiles Department Store in Lexington in the 1930's. He did displays in the store windows and inside. His official title was "window trimmer." So naturally, when he got his own store -- Julian's in Hazard -- he always did very attractive window displays. He always believed they were the key to the store's success.

There was a fake pipe organ above the shoe department. The two female manikins were the first of that kind in Hazard. My father's other talents included sign painting, decorating churches for weddings, and patriotic displays during the war.