It's sad to see any business close, but the Globe is near and dear to the chamber's heart. So the closing of this venerable furniture store in downtown Marinette leaves a bittersweet feeling.
Tobias Kirmse founded the Globe in 1888. His son, Walter, was one of the founders of the former Marinette Area Chamber of Commerce in 1939. The Marinette chamber is one of our two ancester organiations, along with the Menominee/River Cities Chamber of Commerce.
Two of Walter descendents, John Plouff and Mary Plouff McCarrier, served as chamber presidents in 1968-69 and 1997-98 respectively.
Times have changed in the last 122 years. But through that time, the Globe has remained a retail destination for people who sought high-quality furniture for their homes. It has remained an anchor for downtown Marinette, even when our retail center gradually shifted to the south side of town.
We will miss this established family business, but we are pleased for Mary McCarrier and her family who will now have time to pursue other interests.
Downtown Marinette will survive, and morph into another kind of business center. We are extremely optimistic! The chamber was contacted recently by several businesses considering downtown locations. We are pleased that some of our members have shown interest recently in downtown's revival and we are exciting about working with them in the new year. We don't have to look far to find inspiration: Downtown Menominee!
Meanwhile, we salute the Globe and we thank the Kirmse-Plouff-McCarrier family for its belief in our community.
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