Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Los Gatos Weekly-Times file photograph

'Under the counter' books were among the items the Crall family sold in their Los Gatos stores.

Picture from the Past

John S. Baggerly

The Cralls provided books and stationery in Los Gatos

'Under the counter" books in Los Gatos? Henry Crall had them at his stationery and book store at 21 N. Santa Cruz Ave. during mid-century. They were called "under the counter" because the novels were slightly off-color, and Crall knew which of his customers would not be offended and would enjoy reading them.

If any of these books were "banned in Boston," so much the better. A book or a stage play banned in Boston had free publicity that money could not buy. The federal government also guarded citizens against evil by banning books, including Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Crall knew his clientele (mainly women) well enough that he knew to whom he could recommend an "under the counter" book. Some of these liberal types were widowed residents of the Hotel Lyndon, owned and operated in those days by Louie Newman.

This was long before the Meadows and The Terraces came along to house the elderly. Medical care at the Lyndon was close by: Dr. Horace Jones was in the La Cañada Building, and dentists Colvin and Tremaine were just across Main Street from the hotel.

Documentation of H J. Crall Co. from 1891 to 1947 is preserved, thanks to the writings of son H.C. Crall.

H.C. wrote: "In the first days of January 1891, Henry J. Crall and his bride arrived in Los Gatos via the old narrow-gauge railroad. As they climbed from the train for their first look at Los Gatos, Mrs. Crall said, 'I think I would like to live here.' "

"A few days later they found a store that was being vacated, and before the end of January Crall's Palace of Sweets opened at 130 W. Main St. in the old Aram Block, a one-story frame building with a wooden awning, boardwalk and hitching posts."

The stock was expanded a few months later by the addition of a case of envelopes that were bulky and helped fill empty shelves. School supplies were also added. The Crall family resided in the back of the store.

"The records show that in January 1898, the year of the Spanish-American War, the gross sales for the month had climbed to the astonishing sum of $220.51. However, living expenses had also risen, and during that month it cost $26.40 to keep the family, so that there was not much surplus left for expansion.

"An entry in the books of October l3, 1901, reads, 'A fire breaking out a block from me at 3:30 a.m. in 112 hours destroyed some 60 houses, mostly business firms, a total loss. Our insurance was $800. The business district from the creek westward to the railroad tracks had been wiped out.' "

After the great fire of 1901, Crall operated two stores. One was in the Ford Opera House building, later Crider's Department Store and today the Opera House shops and banquet facilities. The other store was on Railroad Avenue, which 9-year-old Henry C. Crall helped run.

In 1916 H.J. retired and moved the business to 21 N. Santa Cruz Ave., which today houses Andale Taqueria. In 1917, H.C. joined the U.S. Army and was sent to France, so H. J. came back and took over for the war's duration.

Young Henry stayed on in France for a year after the Allies defeated Germany in the Great War, which became known as World War I after the Allies defeated the Axis powers in what became World War II. He then returned to Los Gatos.

In 1922, four years after the war, H.C. and his mother bought out the business of George Rasmussen and combined it with their own. The third Henry Crall ran the business for a short time before the firm closed.

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