URL:
http://www.radioshackcorporation.com/about/history.html

Beginning in 1921, RadioShack would grow to a handful of stores clustered in
the Northeast, and become a leading electronics mail-order distributor to
hobbyists. This is how it would remain until the company and a young Texan
named Charles Tandy crossed paths four decades later.

So when did Lafayette start ???
--
The Anon Keyboard
I doubt, therefore I might be



"K3HVG" wrote in message
...
The only thing I can remember was that we called Lafayette "Laugh-a-Lot"
Radio. They had their place, back then, to be sure... long before the
current RatShack came along. I still have a Lafayette bug.

Thanks to all for a wealth of information. Now then...ahem...does anyone
know anything about the Model 390 Starflite ham transmitter? I believe early
Kenwood or Yaesu was manufacturing their other ham rigs but the Starflite
was a kit and I am wondering if it was an American effort on the part of
Lafayette? The circuit was almost identical to the DX-60 so I am wondering
if anyone knows if there was a Heath-Lafayette connection? Why was the
Starflite only offered for a year and a half or two years? Was it a dud? Or
was Heath and the DX-60 too much competition? Too many questions, I know. I
am doing a little research paper, of sorts. Thanks guys.

Smokey
"Smokey" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and 1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Smokey

Thanks to all for a wealth of information. Now then...ahem...does anyone
know anything about the Model 390 Starflite ham transmitter? I believe early
Kenwood or Yaesu was manufacturing their other ham rigs but the Starflite
was a kit and I am wondering if it was an American effort on the part of
Lafayette? The circuit was almost identical to the DX-60 so I am wondering
if anyone knows if there was a Heath-Lafayette connection? Why was the
Starflite only offered for a year and a half or two years? Was it a dud? Or
was Heath and the DX-60 too much competition? Too many questions, I know. I
am doing a little research paper, of sorts. Thanks guys.

Smokey
"Smokey" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and 1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Smokey

In article , "Smokey"
writes:

Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and 1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Funny, the others reminiscing about NYC and Chicago. But I remember when there
was a big Laughin-Yet store on Comonwealth Ave in Boston, about 1967. I always
assumed Lafayette was a Boston-based outfit, and that was the "mother" store.
Guess I was wrong.

I used to take the subway once in a while and ogle the wares. I cam close to
buying their "inmported" 6m AM transceiver, but ended up mail-ordering and
building the Knight-Kit equivalent instead.

Funny thing is, there was a Radio Shack store of equal size (big) a block away.
--Mike K.
Oscar loves trash, but hates Spam! Delete him to reply to me.

In article , "Smokey"
writes:

Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and 1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Funny, the others reminiscing about NYC and Chicago. But I remember when there
was a big Laughin-Yet store on Comonwealth Ave in Boston, about 1967. I always
assumed Lafayette was a Boston-based outfit, and that was the "mother" store.
Guess I was wrong.

I used to take the subway once in a while and ogle the wares. I cam close to
buying their "inmported" 6m AM transceiver, but ended up mail-ordering and
building the Knight-Kit equivalent instead.

Funny thing is, there was a Radio Shack store of equal size (big) a block away.
--Mike K.
Oscar loves trash, but hates Spam! Delete him to reply to me.

"patgkz" wrote in message
...
I worked for LRE for a short while starting during their "last days".
Employed at Company store #54 in Milwaukee WI 1973 thru 1975.

When I was managing the store, I remember calling Syosset Headquarters to
check on backorders, we were plagued by import backorders. HQ's phone
system was so antiquated, we had to call back numerous times after getting
disconnected. Call forwarding was done with "switchhooking". Many of the
people that I remember talking to were well up in years, a couple were
deaf
and we had to shout to them while calling.



And perhaps that was simply a managerial "technique" used by those slippery
New Yorkers on bothersome cheeseheads. g

Ed
wb6wsn

"patgkz" wrote in message
...
I worked for LRE for a short while starting during their "last days".
Employed at Company store #54 in Milwaukee WI 1973 thru 1975.

When I was managing the store, I remember calling Syosset Headquarters to
check on backorders, we were plagued by import backorders. HQ's phone
system was so antiquated, we had to call back numerous times after getting
disconnected. Call forwarding was done with "switchhooking". Many of the
people that I remember talking to were well up in years, a couple were
deaf
and we had to shout to them while calling.



And perhaps that was simply a managerial "technique" used by those slippery
New Yorkers on bothersome cheeseheads. g

Ed
wb6wsn

These was a Lafayette store in Buffalo, NY. Around 1970 or so it became
Purchase Radio, which gradually turned into a Hi-Fi joint. Purchase opened 3
more branches in the suburbs, then vanished in the late 1970s.

"Mike Knudsen" wrote in message
...
In article , "Smokey"
writes:

Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and
1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Funny, the others reminiscing about NYC and Chicago. But I remember when
there
was a big Laughin-Yet store on Comonwealth Ave in Boston, about 1967. I
always
assumed Lafayette was a Boston-based outfit, and that was the "mother"
store.
Guess I was wrong.

I used to take the subway once in a while and ogle the wares. I cam
close to
buying their "inmported" 6m AM transceiver, but ended up mail-ordering and
building the Knight-Kit equivalent instead.

Funny thing is, there was a Radio Shack store of equal size (big) a block
away.
--Mike K.
Oscar loves trash, but hates Spam! Delete him to reply to me.

These was a Lafayette store in Buffalo, NY. Around 1970 or so it became
Purchase Radio, which gradually turned into a Hi-Fi joint. Purchase opened 3
more branches in the suburbs, then vanished in the late 1970s.

"Mike Knudsen" wrote in message
...
In article , "Smokey"
writes:

Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and
1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Funny, the others reminiscing about NYC and Chicago. But I remember when
there
was a big Laughin-Yet store on Comonwealth Ave in Boston, about 1967. I
always
assumed Lafayette was a Boston-based outfit, and that was the "mother"
store.
Guess I was wrong.

I used to take the subway once in a while and ogle the wares. I cam
close to
buying their "inmported" 6m AM transceiver, but ended up mail-ordering and
building the Knight-Kit equivalent instead.

Funny thing is, there was a Radio Shack store of equal size (big) a block
away.
--Mike K.
Oscar loves trash, but hates Spam! Delete him to reply to me.

I worked for Lafayette in Jamaica, Queens, New York 1963-1964. This was my
first job and I sold Ham/CB Equipment. I worked for a sales manager named
Sandy who worked for the store manager Nat Raucher. George "The Greek" sold
hifi and camera and the rest worked hard hours "Over the counter". You could
by any component from a single carbon resistor to a case of electrolytics
over the counter. Two young engineers (RCA Institute grads) met to discuss
some simple designs of ham and cb equipment had their prototypes done in
Japan and then marketed them here. I think this was mostly for the simple
but inexpensive cb's and some ham gear like their 6 meter am transceivers. I
didn't make much money but the employee discount was good and I bought my
first transceiver the National NCX-3. The American Electronics industy was a
good viable source of income for many people and at the time I thought it
would last forever.


Tony WA6LZH (WA2LBY)


"Smokey" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and 1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Smokey