I just love a phrase from a post on the www.IFish.net thread, "GI Joes sighting!!!" on the IFish Community category. The post was today (3-6) and is by R3PM who says, "G.I. Joe's - growing from Coffee and Bait to Sports and Auto the way it was."
And, the post (#111 on the thread) gives a contact email, to order sand shrimp: gijoesonline@gmail.com.
Alright David and Ron and B.G. and Ed - keep on keepin on!
Posted by Janna Orkney, March 6, 2010
Return of the "Good Guys!"
If you have gone to the http://www.ifish.net/ thread, "G.I. Joe's Sighting," that was posted on 1-21, I'll bet you have seen the photo of a former Postal Annex in Hillsboro, with the large banner, "G.I. Joe's Coming Soon!" (The photos are in Comment #70 of that thread.)
What a match-up of history and present day! Dad started the original G.I. Joe's in a G.I. hospital tent in North Portland. Prior to that, he had sold army surplus sleeping bags from a rented fruit stand in North Multnomah County, or even beside the road, from a car or back of a pickup truck. The deal is, Dad did not have a store at first, or a perfect store later, he just wanted to get the merchandise out to customers by whatever means he could.
Well, look at the Postal Annex, and the startup of G.I. Joe's again. It isn't the perfect store for a startup, but you work with what you've got, just like Dad did back in the late '40s and early '50s. It is sort of like history repeating itself, and I am so happy.
So, I say to my brother and his three partners (I call them the "good guys" in my mind), "You go, good guys!" As the G.I. Joe's slogan said in the '70s, "Go for it!"
Posted by Janna Orkney, January 24, 2010
What a match-up of history and present day! Dad started the original G.I. Joe's in a G.I. hospital tent in North Portland. Prior to that, he had sold army surplus sleeping bags from a rented fruit stand in North Multnomah County, or even beside the road, from a car or back of a pickup truck. The deal is, Dad did not have a store at first, or a perfect store later, he just wanted to get the merchandise out to customers by whatever means he could.
Well, look at the Postal Annex, and the startup of G.I. Joe's again. It isn't the perfect store for a startup, but you work with what you've got, just like Dad did back in the late '40s and early '50s. It is sort of like history repeating itself, and I am so happy.
So, I say to my brother and his three partners (I call them the "good guys" in my mind), "You go, good guys!" As the G.I. Joe's slogan said in the '70s, "Go for it!"
Posted by Janna Orkney, January 24, 2010
G.I. Joe's Refuses to Just Fade Away
I am posting this on January 16, 2010, to tell you that, yes, there are negotations under way to start up G.I. Joe's stores again! My brother, David Orkney, and some original senior management folks, are working on opening one or more G.I. Joe's stores very soon.
I am thrilled! Of course, there is the family tie for me, but what it gets down to, is that I am happy because G.I. Joe's is good for Oregon. First of all, the old management of the stores understood what Oregonians want in an outdoor store because they lived in Oregon too. That will be coming back. And G.I. Joe's was good for Oregon in another way. The store policy was to support local businesses, both large and small, when choosing suppliers. That will be coming back too.
And, the "G.I." will be coming back as well. The removal of "G.I." by the previous management was a huge indication that they didn't get what it stood for. It is really simple...it stands for support of our troops and respect for our veterans and my brother and his partners want to make that store support very clear by using the old name. After all, it was my dad, Edward Orkney, who started G.I. Joe's as a World War II veteran, and many other vets worked in the
store over the years as well.
I am so hoping it all comes together again for an Oregon-based G.I. Joe's. That's in my prayers, and I hope in yours too.
I will keep you posted as things develop.
Posted by Janna Orkney, January 16, 2010
I am thrilled! Of course, there is the family tie for me, but what it gets down to, is that I am happy because G.I. Joe's is good for Oregon. First of all, the old management of the stores understood what Oregonians want in an outdoor store because they lived in Oregon too. That will be coming back. And G.I. Joe's was good for Oregon in another way. The store policy was to support local businesses, both large and small, when choosing suppliers. That will be coming back too.
And, the "G.I." will be coming back as well. The removal of "G.I." by the previous management was a huge indication that they didn't get what it stood for. It is really simple...it stands for support of our troops and respect for our veterans and my brother and his partners want to make that store support very clear by using the old name. After all, it was my dad, Edward Orkney, who started G.I. Joe's as a World War II veteran, and many other vets worked in the
store over the years as well.
I am so hoping it all comes together again for an Oregon-based G.I. Joe's. That's in my prayers, and I hope in yours too.
I will keep you posted as things develop.
Posted by Janna Orkney, January 16, 2010
Growing Up With G.I. Joe's Table of Contents
Excerpts from Chapters
Part I - Beginnings
Part II - Our Home
Part III - Store and Neighborhood
Part IV - Store Growth and Change
Part V - Edward Orkney's Story
Dedication
List of Sources
At whatever Part of the story your computer browser ends (like Part I, II, etc.), just scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on "Older Posts," to continue.
Photos accompany this history. To see them, go to http://www.growingupwithgijoesphotos.blogspot.com/
To read comments from readers, go to http://www.growingupwithgijoescomments.blogspot.com/
Part I - Beginnings
Part II - Our Home
Part III - Store and Neighborhood
Part IV - Store Growth and Change
Part V - Edward Orkney's Story
Dedication
List of Sources
At whatever Part of the story your computer browser ends (like Part I, II, etc.), just scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on "Older Posts," to continue.
Photos accompany this history. To see them, go to http://www.growingupwithgijoesphotos.blogspot.com/
To read comments from readers, go to http://www.growingupwithgijoescomments.blogspot.com/
Excerpts from Chapters
Part I
Beginnings
In 1947, My dad, Edward Orkney, started his first war surplus store in Salem, Oregon, in partnership with another World War II Army Air Corps pilot. The partners experimented with the pricing of merchandise. To save making change on a transaction, each item was priced an even amount. So, instead of a price of $3.99 for example, the price was $4.00! Dad did not repeat this pricing strategy in later stores.
Part II
Our Home
We lived close to the Columbia River, which was about a half mile away, with the Interstate Bridge a few miles further away.. Our house was located on the Columbia River flood plain. While the store had not been flooded in the 1948 Vanport Flood, our house had been. In 1951, when we moved in, there was still dried mud from the flood waters on the floor of the unfinished room on the second floor!
Part III
The Store and Neighborhood
Part IV
Store Growth and Family Change
My father, Edward Orkney’s main focus, from the time he left the Army Air Corps in 1945, was to build a business, and he did. Money and possessions did not seem to interest him much. Instead, it was the challenge of creating something solid that was important to him. Also important to him was that, even after his death, G.I. Joe’s could continue to be a resource to the community, and offer security to the employees who had helped in its creation.
Part V
Edward Orkney’s Story
Another quality my father had was modesty. Bragging was not something he did. A simple statement of the facts was OK, but not drawing attention to oneself. I know that for at least the first 10 years and probably more, G.I. Joe’s did not buy advertising in newspapers or on the radio. Rather, Dad depended on word-of-mouth, or simply the great location of the North Portland store, so close to the Washington/Oregon Interstate Bridge. I believe that Dad not advertising in the early years, was a natural outgrowth of his modesty and basic quietness.
Janna Orkney, Copyright, 2008
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