Shirl's Record Whirl

 There were several stores throughout Holyoke that sold record albums and singles throughout the 1950s and 1960s. However, this was part of a larger inventory of other merchandise available for sale. Sears & Roebuck, W. T. Grants, J. M. Fields, and Del Padre's immediately come to mind as department stores that had a record department. Shirl's Record Whirl (Shirl's) may have been the first to make the sale of records the primary focus of the business.

Shirley Reed was a lifelong Holyoker and long-time record department manager at the W.T. Grant's High Street location. 

In September 1966, Shirley Reed opened her record shop, named Shirl's Record Whirl, at 306 High Street. If you attempt to map the site, you'll find the storefront is no longer there. In 1969, Peoples Savings Bank purchased the building from Gallup's Clothing Store with plans to raze the existing structures and construct a new corporate headquarters.

This news came as a surprise to the five business owners and nine residential tenants, most of whom didn't have a place to relocate, including Shirl's Record Whirl. 

Shirl's was fortunate, as a suitable space was available nearby at 331 High Street, and the shop continued in business.

For a time, Shirl's sold beginner's guitars, electric guitars and amps, record players, and small stereo systems. Newspaper ads featured the latest music releases and items on sale. If a record wasn't in stock and still available, Shirl would order it for the customer.

The store was also a ticket hub for shows at the Paramount Theater and in 1977 became Holyoke's ticket outlet for shows at the newly built Springfield Civic Center. In 1979, the store was a drop-off point for film developing by Holyoke Photo Service. Retailers lived by the foot traffic entering their stores.

Shirley Reed was also a proponent of downtown. She was an advocate of parking enforcement to open up spaces for shoppers, rather than having store employees occupy valuable space. She spoke up for Holyoke's downtown when writers would relate disparaging opinions. 

Shirl's weathered the storm of the Holyoke Mall and the national record store chains that provided competition and detoured customers from the downtown area. Many downtown stores had already closed, with more to follow. 

In July of 1993, a couple of months before the store's 27th anniversary, Shirley Reed announced she would be closing her store. The desire to spend more time with her grandchildren, coupled with responding to police alerts of nighttime break-ins, prompted her decision. In the end, Shirley Reed took away the happy memories of running her downtown record shop.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.

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