When we were young, the idea of the Welcome Wagon seemed very different. If memory serves us correctly, someone actually did come to our door with a basket of goods and coupons for the neighborhood. As with most things, the Wagon has turned to the web...
The Welcome Wagon
After receiving our small packet of printed tips, lists of resources, and of course a slew of coupons in the mail, we went online to see what else the Welcome Wagon had to offer. Including four main tabs Local Pages, Special Offers, Home & Garden Ideas, and Living Well, the web has helped the age-old "wagon" develop new ways of being an ever-present welcoming resource rather than a one-time appearance.
Here's a bit about the Welcome Wagon's history:
Welcome Wagon was founded in 1928 by an insightful marketing man in Memphis, Tennesee, Thomas Briggs. Mr. Briggs was inspired by stories of early Conestoga “welcome wagons” that would meet and greet westward travelers, providing fresh food and water for the journey. He created Welcome Wagon to embody this same spirit of warm hospitality and welcome. He hired "hostesses", women who were friendly and knowledgeable about their neighborhood, to personally deliver baskets of gifts supplied by local businesses to new homeowners.
Over a cup of coffee, hostesses would tell new home buyers about local civic and cultural activities in the community while handing out gifts and coupons from local businesses. This hostess network expanded across the country until, aside from Briggs and just a handful of males, Welcome Wagon became one of the first all-woman companies in the US.
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huh. interesting to know.
view bbt's profile
ya interesting. heres some more interesting info: we moved and the welcome wagon lady kept calling us. after politely telling her we werent interested, she kept calling. and calling. finally, ona sunday night at about 930. she calls to say she's in her car outside our house - and if we would just open the door, she could give us a basket of coupons etc. okay. you got us. we'll take your coupons.
here's the kicker. she then, unbeknownst to us, gave our adress and phone number to every single business whos promotional stuff was in that basket. we were getting multiple calls every day, at all hours. it took weeks to put an end to it.
hospitality my ass. ugh, i'm grumpy just thinking about it!
view cblls's profile
Yelp.com gives me all the information about businesses I'm looking for in my new neighborhood, I found it 2 years ago when I had moved into a new place and it was invaluable. When I moved 2 months ago I knew I could count on it again...I sound like a commercial. But seriously it's great, you can find businesses close to you and they are all rated by users who leave comments..so I can find anything from a great carwash to cleaners to sushi bars that come highly recommended.
view sweetheart's profile
you can also download the widget to have it as a searchable tab in Firefox..convenient
view sweetheart's profile
We have gotten away from knowing the neighbors and neighborhoods. It is good to know who is friendly, who you can count on if something happens, or if you are going out of town who you can trust with your mail. Now the lady who couldn't find a clue is a bit scary....Getting to know your neighbors is like making a new friend, you can never have enough.
view MSMILLA914's profile