Alta Cunningham

Alta Aleane (alt. Allane or Pamelia) Cunningham, Born 22 Nov. 1889; died 16 June 1977, age 87 years. Buried in Edgewood Cemetery.
February 4, 1910 Greenville News: engaged as saleswoman for W.M. Ballenger and Company.
March 1, 1910 Greenville News: moved from Ballenger to T.E. Smith to become Assistant Milliner to the Head Milliner, Miss Grace Shiver. Over the next several years there are annual newspaper entries regarding the "spring millinery openings" in which all of the local stores with millinery shops unveil their annual wares. Alta is listed with Grace as being in charge of T.E. Smith's millinery department for the openings over the next several years.
August 12, 1910 Greenville News: The YWCA was organized on July 10 and held a promotion and fundraising program on August 14. In that program, Alta Cunningham participated in a debate on the topic "Resolved that women of the world do more and better church work than the women did thirty years ago." Alta argued in the affirmative.
September 2, 1910 Greenville News: Alta was elected president of the Young Women's Auxiliary to fill the unexpired term of Miss Lydia Greene, resigned.
September 28, 1911 Greenville News: Alta and Grace Shiver are still in charge of millinery for T.E. Smith.
August 16, 1912 Greenville News: Alta went with Mr. and Mrs. T.E. Smith to the "northern markets" to purchase a fall and winter line of dry goods, notions, and millinery.
February 14, 1913 Greenville News: the three of them made a similar trip to New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore for spring and summer goods.
March 28, 1915 Greenville News: this year's millinery opening at T.E. Smith is run by Alta with Miss Thalia Dillard.
August 8, 1915 Greenville News: Alta traveled by herself to Baltimore to buy fall and winter millinery.
August 13, 1916 Greenville News: Alta traveled with T.E. Smith and Mrs. J. Marvin McHugh for an extended business trip north.
March 25, 1917 Greenville News: At this point TE Smith has become the largest general store in Greenville County — outside of Greenville City. It was the third "digression" of the Smith & Mayfield Company which was located on the opposite side of Trade Street; then O.P. and T.E. Smith, and then TE Smith became the sole owner. In 1914 a "jobbing department store" was added. T.E. Smith himself was mayor of Greer at this time. Alta is listed as the buyer for millinery.
August 12, 1917 Greenville News: Alta traveled again with T.E. Smith and Mrs. J.M. McHugh.
February 4, 1918 Greenville News: The same group is traveling again. This adds the names of J. Terry Wood and Miss Eunice Green, who were doing the same type of shopping for J. Terry Wood's store.
August 12, 1918 Concord (NC) Daily Tribune and Concord Times: Miss Alta Cunningham of Baltimore will arrive this week to take charge of the millinery department at Fisher's. We have not found any record of her living in Baltimore.
December 18, 1918 Columbia State: Alta comes to visit her mother. She has been milliner for a large millinery store at Concord, NC (presumably Fisher's).
July 4, 1921 Columbia State: Alta's story takes a bizarre turn here. On June 25, 1921, Alta Cunningham was married to Albert A. Goldke of Waukegan, Illinois in his home town. This is confirmed as "our" Alta when the article states "Mrs. Goldke is the eldest daughter of Minnie Cunningham of Greer." In recent years the "young lady of unusual ability" had held responsible positions in Denver and Chicago. Mr. Goldke, a "prominent businessman" in Waukegan, had fought in the Navy in the Great War. The Goldke's would make their home in Waukegan.
June 29, 1924 Columbia State: Miss Alta Cunningham of Chicago is visiting her mother in Greer.
July 1, 1924 Greenville News: Alta is back visiting her mother, and "will remain in Greer for some time."
August 9, 1925 Greenville News: Alta went to New York with Mrs. Marvin McHugh and Belle and Sallie King. It's unknown what company they represented; Mrs. McHugh had previously traveled with Alta and TE Smith. Regardless, this indicates that Alta had returned to her prior line of work.
1926: A retrospective printed in November, 1972 (see below) notes that in 1926 she opened her own shop upstairs over another store. We do not know that other store or the location, but two reasonable options are the TE Smith store in the Bailey building where she had worked previously; or the W.K. Hill store (based of the next entry, where she took a shopping trip to NY with Mrs. Hill).
February 6, 1927 Greenville News: Alta has just returned from a 2-week visit to New York with Mrs. W.K. Hill and Miss Cora Howell.
August 14, 1927 Greenville News: Alta returns from New York.
August 5, 1928 Columbia State: Alta has left for New York.
January 3, 1929 Greenville News: Miss Lois Dillard is very ill after a severe round of influenza. For some time she has been associated with Alta Cunningham in her gift shop and millinery department.
January 20, 1929 Greenville News and Columbia State: Alta goes to New York with Mrs. McHugh and with her sister, Mrs. E.A. Carpenter, to buy merchandise “for the different firms they are associated with.” The State reports that Mrs. W.K. Hill is with them.
March 24, 1929 Columbia Sunday Record: Alta went to a millinery show in Atlanta with her sister Mrs. E.A. Carpenter.
October 9, 1929 Greenwood Index Journal: “GREER – Alta Cunningham Store, ready-to-wear, opened for business in a new building.”
October 25, 1929 Columbia Record: “Alta Cunningham Department Store moved to new quarters.”
1930 Census: Alta lives with her mother and is listed as single.
January 2, 1930 Greenville News: Alta is recovering from tonsil surgery at the Chick Springs Sanitarium.
January 24, 1930 Greenville News: Alta, of the “Alta Cunningham millinery and ready-to-wear store,” went to New York with Mrs. McHugh of the McHugh Specialty Shop.
August 15, 1930 Greenville News: Alta has returned home from New York, buying goods for her store.
September 28, 1930 Greenville News: Classes in the plastic arts (painting) have been held in the second floor of the Alta Cunningham Store building, taught by T.E. Parsons, and were very well attended.
January 25, 1931 Greenville News: Alta went to NY, buying store goods.
April 19, 1931 Greenville News: Alta went to NY, buying store goods.
August 2, 1932 Columbia Record: Alta went to NY with her sister and brother-in-law Mr. and Mrs. E.A. Carpenter of Carpenter and Haltiwanger.
December 17, 1933 Greenville News: the first known ad for Alta Cunningham Store advertises “flattering styles, luxurious comfort.”
October 28, 1934 Greenville News: Alta went to NY, buying store goods.
November 11, 1934 Greenville News: Alta Cunningham Store is a new Greer establishment offering “absolutely desirable fashion merchandise” — high grade merchandise at moderate prices. It is noteworthy that the next column describes the new Leader store that opened in March, 1934, and the Efird’s store which opened in 1919.
August 24, 1939 Greenville News: real estate transaction, Alta bought a lot from W.M. Thompson for $21,000, previously occupied by The Leader department store. The deed is recorded in Book 213, Page 243. Her store had been situated on Trade Street on an adjoining block; and she intended to open in the new location early in 1940, after doing some remodeling. As an aside, W.M. Thompson first owned Thompson Hardware located where Rick Erwin's is now; he became a Ford dealer in 1907 (the second in the state), first selling them out of his hardware store, then he opened Thompson Ford in the Grace Church building.
1940 Census: Alta lives with her mother; her marital status is “divorced,” adding clarity to what happened with Goldke.
February 5, 1940 Greenville News: Alta is selling two large stoves, several substantial tables and counters, and light fixtures. This indicates a remodel happened, though it does not confirm a location.
November 23, 1942 Greenville News: Alta has been appointed chairman of the stocking salvage drive, collecting used hosiery at her store for use in the war effort.
May 8, 1943 Greenville News: A WAC recruiting booth was set up at Alta’s store.
January 21, 1944 Greenville News: Alta went to NY, buying store goods.
October 1, 1946 Greenville News: real estate transaction, Alta bought a Greer lot from Mae Wood Robinson for $10,053.56. It’s likely this is the stone house at 102 West Church Street, in which Alta lived for the rest of her life; I haven’t yet researched the property records.
January 12, 1947 Greenville News: social pages have a photo of Alta, still looking young and stylish (though nearing 60 years old), in a group of other women.
August/September 1949, Orangeburg Times and Democrat, Columbia Record and Columbia State all report that Alta was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her niece. However, all the articles call her “Alta P. Cunningham” or “Alta Pamelia Cunningham,” which does not match the name on her tombstone.
November 26, 1972 Greenville News: An article on Alta, with a photo, reflects briefly on her 83 years. Her ambition as a young girl was to marry a rich man; “she never quite made it and admits there are some regrets” [there’s a chance that comment references whatever happened with Goldke]. At the same time she realizes that if she had gotten married it would have changed her whole life. She started working at a millinery shop in Greer at age 16 and in 1926 opened her own shop upstairs over another store. That business boomed, so she then opened one on the main floor on Trade Street [the article is ambiguous about whether it was the same building]. In 1940 she moved into her current location with her large department store.
February 26, 1974 Greenville News 100th anniversary edition: An article on Alta, with a photo, notes that she has been in the ready-to-wear business for 49 years and it is still booming under her leadership. It notes that Alta was born on a farm. It repeats the basic information from the 1972 article, adding that her move from a second floor to a first floor was also a move to a different building on Trade. It also adds that the 1940 store is her current location at 104-6 Trade Street, confirming that the 1939 purchase was not The Leader building. This article notes that her original investment was $800 and that she employed 17 clerks at the time.
Another article in the same edition, with another portrait as well as a photo of the store at 104 Trade, notes that she is affectionately called “Miss Alta” and had visited 35 countries on 8 trips.
December 21, 1975 Greenville News: This is confusing. Her death date on her tombstone is June 1977, but this 1975 paper is an estate sale of her personal goods by a probate judge. We have not yet found her death certificate, which might help explain the situation.
July 24, 1979: The Bailey Building is placed on the National Register and the SC Historical Properties list. That record states the building was built and used by T.E. Smith; then purchased by Belk-McNight, which later moved to site #67 in the 1920s (unknown location; there isn't a #67 on the SCHP map); "subsequently occupied by the Alta Cunningham store and then the Leader (Department Store)." This is a confusing entry, and not necessarily trustworthy. It's further confused by The Leader being a store operated by Belk-McNight. We have further research needing to be done.