Sisters Irene and Erma open the I & E Shop - A Sesquicentennial Feature

by Julian Swanson, in memory of my two aunts

Irene and Erma Swanson were local girls who had moved into Ogden from the farm eight miles northwest of town. They grew up in the Boxholm and Swede Valley communities, their mother Hilda from the Boxholm area and their father Albert from the Swede Valley and Ogden communities.

The sisters’ move to Ogden was necessitated by the upcoming marriage of their younger brother Donald. On moving into Ogden they worked at various jobs from the time of their move in 1947 until December 12 of 1952 when they purchased the business known as Dewey’s Dress and Gift Shop which at the time was owned by Ernest and Rena Cox. 

On February 7, 1953 the I & E Shop opened for the first time. Erma and Irene started the process of moving the store to the old Powell Drug Store Feb. 11, 1957. First on the agenda was planning the dress displays. Painting began in March and on April 6, 1957, the remaining inventory was moved across the street to the new location on the south side of the street between Super Value and the Gambles store (today the center portion of Clark’s Food Mart). The green bricks on the upper front are all that remain of the building. Rent at the time was $75 a month. 

Opening day for the new location was Saturday, April 13. Coffee and cookies were served all throughout the day.

On Sunday, Oct. 28, 1958 Nebbe’s Super Value caught fire. The I & E Shop sustained smoke damage and clean-up from that was difficult. (Nebbe’s re-opened Thursday, Dec. 18.)

Irene and Erma met with bankers Leonard Nelson and Jerry Powell June 16, 1961 about purchasing the building. The next day they paid $2,200 as a down payment. The balance of $4,000 was paid July 5, 1961.

For many years the sisters invited Klocksiem’s (a local piano/organ business) in to play their organ and share Christmas music with the public. 

The I & E Shop remained in that location until March of 1985 when the two owners retired and sold the business and the building to Sonya Sturtz and Sandy Barquist. 

Read the complete story in the July 13 issue of The Ogden Reporter.