CARRIE HEISS - 57 YEARS AN AMBLER BUSINESS WOMAN

 
Born in Chestnut Hill in 1866, Carrie Meher seemed destined to spend most of her adult life in the retailing field.  Following her marriage in 1885 to Walter N. Heiss of Kensington, the newlyweds moved to Pennville, which we know today as Maple Glen. Here they operated the General Store and Post office, which belonged to the Simmers family. 

Nineteen-year-old Carrie was responsible for operating the store, while her husband went on the road as a peddler, traveling the countryside and selling goods from his wagon.  His travels often took him into Ambler, where he became acquainted with Rees C. Roberts, owner of the popular Pharmacy at the northeast corner of Main & Butler.  This was before 1895, and Roberts, recognizing the couple as aggressive merchants, suggested that they might want to think about selling their Pennville business and moving into Ambler. 

"This town has a great future," said Roberts, "and it's due largely to the presence of the North Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Keasbey & Mattison Company. The railroad came here in 1855, but a bigger event was the decision by Henry Keasbey and Richard Mattison to move their plant out here from Philadelphia in 1882.  They started as a pharmaceutical firm, but now they're expanding into asbestos and magnesia insulating products."  Rees Roberts continued, "I think that you and Mrs. Heiss just might want to consider growing along with Ambler.  If you agree to it, I have this small store on Main Street right behind my pharmacy that I'll rent to you at a very reasonable price." After showing Walter the store, Roberts said: "Why not discuss it with Carrie and let me know what you think." 

On Walter's return home after a long day on the road, and after Carrie had closed their store for the day, the couple discussed selling their Pennville business, where expansion seemed limited, and moving into Ambler, where growth was almost certain. 

By next morning, their minds made up, Walter met with Roberts and arranged to rent the Main Street store. Thus began the establishment of a business in early Ambler that would continue until the retirement in 1952 of a widowed Carrie Heiss. 

The couple's dry goods store, featuring men's, women's and children's clothing and notions, soon grew to the point where they needed more space. A popular jewelry store in Ambler was Schafenacker & Huber, on Butler Avenue next to Rees Roberts' Pharmacy.  In 1900 the partnership was dissolved, making the property available at a time when Carrie and Walter were in need of more space.  By spring of 1900, having purchased the property, they moved into their new store, which was three times the size of the one on Main Street. 

As business continued to grow, Walter Heiss rented once again from Roberts their original Main Street store, making it a first-class haberdashery, which he operated.   Mrs. Heiss expanded the Butler Avenue store, with emphasis on women's and children's clothing. She featured ladies' millinery, making it necessary to hire several hat trimmers at this time. 

In 1912 tragedy struck the Heiss family with the sudden death of Walter N. Heiss at the age of 55 years.  Besides his widow, he left a young daughter Ethel Heiss.  Before his death, they had purchased land on Race Street and erected three brick homes. Later they bought more investment property on Butler Avenue in the next block east of their store, occupied at the time by Charles Gerhart's Livery Stables.  Next to this they erected a building that housed the Ambler Photo Gallery. 

After Walter's death, Carrie continued to run the business, as well as their real estate interests.  In 1913 she had builder Howard Amey erect a motion picture theatre which she called the Palace.  This was built on the site of the Photo Gallery that had been torn down and moved to South Spring Garden Street.  The Palace Theatre had a successful grand opening on Labor Day of 1913, with all of the 300 seats filled long before show time.   The theatre, however, had a very short life span, being destroyed by fire set by an arsonist, January 15, 1916.  Rather than rebuild, she sold the property, and it became, in 1917, Wissahickon Fire Company's second location.

 In 1952, after more than a half-century on Main Street and Butler Avenue, and becoming Ambler's best-known businesswoman, Carrie M. Heiss decided to retire from business.  Death came in 1961, following a fall that had broken her hip a month before. 

 This photograph taken about 1906 shows Carrie and Walter Heiss, at the right, in front of their Butler Avenue store.  The three ladies, clerks in the store, are left to right: Lizzie Coleman; Tacy Clayton, from Blue Bell; and Lizzie Cook (Robinson).  Mrs. Heiss for years employed three or four women as clerks and hat trimmers.   Photograph courtesy Jean "Becky" Cramer, daughter of Lizzie Cook.