Carlson Jewelry closing after 61 years
\nMonth of June will be the last for the business
\nDalles Chronicle<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By RODGER NICHOLS
\nof The Chronicle
\nThree stores and 11 presidents ago, while still a student at The Dalles High School, 18-year-old Jerry Carlson became an apprentice watchmaker for Pounds Jewelry.
\n After three years of study, he passed the state board of watchmakers exam, an exacting test which included a requirement to machine several watch pieces out of metal stock.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I started at no pay,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Carlson said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153And worked up to $5 an hour.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nIn 1965, he struck out on his own, and set up shop as an independent business inside Monahan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jewelry to repair watches and clocks, while his wife Carole did engraving<\/p>\n
A final move took them to Hampton Furniture in 1991, where their tidy shop is tucked in between the elevator and the east stairs.
\n Having a shop inside a furniture store instead of a jewelry store also allowed them to sell jewelry, gaining them more customers.
\n The Carlsons have nothing but praise for Hampton\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s owner Angie DesRochers.
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Angie has been a real sweetheart. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nobody like Angie,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Carole.
\n Angie DesRochers returns the feelings. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re very good people,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll miss them.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n The Carlsons have announced plans to close their shop at the end of June, and have marked all merchandise at half price until the store closes.
\nCarole and Jerry share a birthday, April 9, and last month he turned 79 and she 72.
\n Jerry also suffered a stroke in 2004.
\n And although he has made remarkable recovery, Carole said, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time to make the change.
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Last week he sized rings,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It took him longer than he thought it should, but a year and a half ago he couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have done it at all.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n Over the six decades, the Carlsons have seen a lot of people.
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Jerry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quite an artisan,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Carole. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We now have some fourth generation customers, and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had people ship things from as far away as New York.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n Amid the watch and clock cleaning and repairs, ring sizings and stone replacement, Jerry even had some experience as a forensic jeweler.
\n When the bridge over the Columbia at Biggs went down in the 1964 flood, two cars drove over the end of the missing span. The state police brought him a watch recovered from a victim.
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153They asked him if he smoked,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Carole, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and he said just the occasional cigar. They said to have several at hand, and when they brought in the watch it was reeking of formaldehyde. He was able to get the number engraved inside and help trace the identity of the victim.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n For her part, Carole does engraving. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Anything metal,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153as long as I can fit it in my machine.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n That includes a metal dashboard panel for an airplane built by Del Kendricks of Lyle.
\n After the store closes, the Carlsons plan a couple of weeks rest, then Carole will have a knee operation she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been putting off until after the closure.
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We also are going to travel a bit, and do a few things we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been able to do,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Jerry said.
\n The couple have two girls. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Deborah is a minister,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Carole said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and Lisa works as an accountant at Schnitzer in Portland.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n The Carlsons have been married 50 years, as of last September.
\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153She tripped me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Jerry says, laughing, about their courtship, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give her away for anything.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Carlson Jewelry closing after 61 years Month of June will be the last for the business Dalles Chronicle By RODGER NICHOLS of The Chronicle Three stores and 11 presidents ago, while still a student at The Dalles High School, 18-year-old Jerry Carlson became an apprentice watchmaker for Pounds Jewelry. After three years of study, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[411],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n