Now, *that's* Tom Peterson's (Jack Bog's Blog)

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on April 1, 2009 7:36 PM. The previous post in this blog was Paving over every last square inch. The next post in this blog is Did the state economist blow it?. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

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« Paving over every last square inch | Main | Did the state economist blow it? »

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Now, that's Tom Peterson's

It was.

Posted at 7:36 PM | Permalink

Comments (13)

Wake up! Heeeeey, wake up!

Posted by Snards | April 1, 2009 8:53 PM

"Free is a very good price!"

"Wake up to a happy day!"

"Have a chip! Take a sip!"

"That's Tom Peterson's (and Gloria's Too!)"

"Free haircuts!"

Posted by Long live the Tom-isms! | April 1, 2009 8:56 PM

Dang, thanks for letting us know about the closure... I couldn't remember where I got "free is a very good price."

Posted by FlorenceShappiro | April 1, 2009 9:15 PM

Another one bites the dust. Sad for us.

Posted by mp97303 | April 1, 2009 9:16 PM

And not for the first time! Tom's's has gone bust at least once before in my lifetime.

Posted by Allan L. | April 1, 2009 9:21 PM

A decade ago, I was smitten with a girl from Southeast Portland. After six months or so, we decided to shack up. We needed to find a bed. Not having a lot of money, we decided to check out Tom Peterson's.

As we lay there testing out one of the mattresses, the man himself came over to introduce himself. I was teasing my girlfriend, telling her it wasn't really him. She knew better.

We sat up and made introductions.

"Hi," he said, "I'm Tom."

"Hey," I said, "that's my name too!"

My girlfriend introduced herself.

"I'm Amber."

Peterson took a moment. Then smiled and said...

"T&A. I like it."

After the shock wore off, we chuckled to ourselves. We knew we had a great story. But we also knew we wouldn't be buying there.

So long, Tom.

Posted by Chris Snethen | April 1, 2009 9:56 PM

I'm sorry they're gone. They were an institution - when Portland was something other than it is now. I know you can't turn back the clock, but I remember staying up later than I should as a kid, watching TV before the test pattern and the poem "High Flight" came on and invariably, there was Tom with his "wake up wake up" call.

I took an elderly friend to the Tom and Gloria store about 5 years ago, and there was the man himself, out on the sales floor complete with flat top.

You have to admire that kind of longevity in salesmanship.

Posted by nancy | April 1, 2009 10:18 PM

I can't believe there wasn't some sort of big sendoff party for the guy (and Gloria, too, if she's still around).

Posted by Jack Bog | April 1, 2009 10:23 PM

From what I understand not all Portlanders had pleasant memories of Tom Peterson. It was reported that he sweet-talked his suppliers into extending him more credit and then turned around and filed a bankruptcy.

One may think they're getting something for nothing when they stiff their creditors like that but often times the creditors find other ways to get their revenge. That may explain why Tom Petersons' had to do some major downsizing and never really recovered financially.

Posted by Britt Storkson | April 2, 2009 6:14 AM

I'm sorry to see them go. I was at a media event dinner about 15 years ago when I found myself sitting at the same table with Tom and Gloria. He had a lot of great jokes and one liners to share with the table. Later on that night he was one of the featured speakers; and kept the audience entertained with a talk of about 15 minutes done completely without notes of any kind.
I'm sort of amazed the local media did nothing about announcing the store closing - especially given the many thousands of dollars he spent on local advertising.

Posted by Dave A. | April 2, 2009 6:44 AM

Back in 1985, my freshman year at George Fox University, in one class the prof had us all go around the room, introduce ourselves, and say where we came from. One kid who'd come up from California stood up and said, "Hi, I'm Tom Peterson." He couldn't understood why all the kids from Portland started cracking up at his name.

Posted by Michelle | April 2, 2009 7:13 AM

I saw Tom and Gloria about 4 years ago, visiting with their financial advisor.

Tom looked ancient, but he still had the same smile.

We bought our first washer/dryer from Tom Peterson's store (in 1992), and it was already had the look and feel of a business on the decline.

Posted by Mister Tee | April 2, 2009 7:16 AM

Sorry to see Peterson go out of business, but actually a bit surprised that he lasted as long as he did in this city of business haters.

BTW - thanks for hooking me up with a decent Portland blog. I tend to go with Moscow on the Willamette, but either one works and does speak to the politics of Portland.

Posted by mmmarvel | April 2, 2009 10:18 AM

In Vino Veritas

Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
Cameron, Chardonnay
B.R. Cohn, Cabernet, Silver Label 2006
Graffigna, Cabernet 2005
Palo Alto, Reserve Red 2008
Menguante, Garnacha 2008
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Felsina Berardenga, Vin Santo 1997
Anne Amie, Pinot Gris 2009
McKinley Springs, Bombing Ramge Red 2007
Vieux Papes Red
Dionysius Chardonnay 2009
Haden Fig, Pinot Noir 2009
Vega Montan, Mencia 2008
Chateau la Vernede, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Mount Defiance, Hellfire (White) 2008
Root: 1, Cabernet 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Pinot Grigio 2009
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 White, 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 Rose, 2007
Abacela, Grenache Rose 2009
Avia Cabernet 2004
Lemelson Pinot Noir, Thea's Selection 2007
Chateau de la Roulerie, Rose d'Anjou 2009
Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Rose
La Ferme Julien, Rose 2008
Cana's Feast, Bricco Red, 2006
Hogue, Genesis Merlot, 2008
Owen Roe, Sharecropper's Cabernet, 2008
Kim Crawford, Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
J. Scott, Pinot Noir 2008
Edmunds St. John, White, Heart of Gold 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006
Stevenot, Cabernet, Sierra Foothills, "Stanford" 2000
Portuga, Vinho Rose 2009
Taylor Fladgate, First Estate Reserve Porto
Franciscan, Cabernet, Napa 2006
Chaparral de Vega Sindoa, Garnacha 2008
Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde 2008
St. Francis, Chardonnay Sonoma 2008
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, 2007
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Noir 2008
St. Innocent, Pinot Noir 2006
Jigsaw, Pinot Noir 2007
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Indian Wells 2007
Charles Shaw, Chardonnay 2008
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Rosé 2009
Cameron, Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Il Valore, Sangiovese, Giovane, Puglia 2008
Duck Pond, Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope 2007
Kim Crawford, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008
Domaine du Pesquier, Cotes du Rhone 2005
Cantina Zaccagnini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006
Domaine Matrot, Chardonnay, Bourgogne 2007
David Hill, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Brut
Chandler Reach, Monte Regalo 2006
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2008
Kirkland, Columbia Valley Merlot 2008
D'Aragon, Old Vine Garnacha 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2005
Pavin & Riley, Merlot 2006
David Hill, Estate Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2006
Castle Rock, Paso Robles Cabernet 2006
Magnificent, Cabernet, Steak House 2008
Conundrum 2008
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
La Granja, Tempranillo 360, 2008
Santa Rita, Mendalla Real Cabernet 2006
Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Merlot 2006
Andezon, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
Collegiata, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Troon, Druid's Fluid 2008
La Granja, Tempranillo 2008
Monte Antico, Toscana 2006
Vieux Papes, Blanc de Blancs

The Occasional Book

Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 26
At this date last year: 15
Total run in 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269