July in Naperville means two things – Independence Day and Sidewalk Sales. For many long-time Napervillians, both of these events take your thoughts back to when the town was much smaller. I remember when I was in grade school in the 60s, we would watch the fireworks show from my Grandparent’s rooftop. They had just…
The last few months have been a lot for everyone to handle. With all the tragedy COVID-19 has caused, I tried to look for some good or fun news that relates to Oswald’s and our customers. The first thing that jumped out at me was puzzles! We have sold more puzzles over the past few…
Having trouble finding the right Father’s Day gift this year? Look no further than our traditional wet shaving aisle, carefully curated by yours truly! When I was a kid, I found a vintage safety razor in the basement of the old Oswald’s location and have been fascinated by them ever since. It wasn’t until college…
I’ve recently gotten a lot of questions about how to use a temporal thermometer. COVID-19 has us all rightfully worried about staying healthy and clean–even when it comes to taking our temperatures. Temporal thermometers can help prevent touching due to being a contactless thermometer. Read More We also made a quick YouTube video about How…
The Early Years 1875-1915 (William Wallace Wickel) As we continue celebrating Oswald’s 145th Anniversary I thought I would take a look back at the history of our family business. Six generations of our family have run the business over the years beginning with Great great grandfather W. W. Wickel, who ran the store from 1881…
Father’s Day is only a few weeks away, so why are you still waiting on choosing a gift? Our gift buyers have picked out some unique items for Father’s Day 2020, things that will make any dad smile. Kikkerland Mini Briefcase Barbecue For the dad that wants to BBQ everywhere. This Mini barbecue looks like…
My daughter Tillie (Oswald’s 7th generation!) just turned 4 in April of 2020. It wasn’t quite like the celebrations for her 1st, 2nd, or 3rd birthdays, as this one was spent under ‘shelter-in-place’ orders. The ‘celebration’ mostly took place over FaceTime with family on my cell phone. We called my wife Jenna’s parents and let…
We are all going through a difficult time right now. Quarantines and Social Distancing measures have changed our daily lives. Many of us are working from home—with a spouse working at home and the kids studying at home. We can’t even hug our loved ones! So, how can we take our mind off all these…
As we continue to deal with the evolving COVID-19 situation, medical recommendations are constantly changing. This leads to common medical products and devices becoming scarce seemingly overnight. Just a month ago it was nearly impossible to find thermometers at any store. The past week has put pulse oximeters on the public radar, leading to scarcity…
