My love of history comes from my mother. She served on the Holyoke Historical Commission for years and also wrote local history columns for the Holyoke Transcript Telegram. She instilled in me that special feeling a historian gets when they stand in a place they have been researching or finally finding a clue to a long elusive historical riddle. I feel there is a pressing need to document what’s left of Gen X retail. Our chain stores such as Caldor, KMART, Sears, Bradlees, Ames, Lechmere, Kay Bee Toys, Toys R us, Filene’s, Filene’s Basement and more have been lost. Eastfield Mall, Fairfield Mall, Mountain Farms Mall are gone. Crystal Mall and Brass Mill Center are half empty. Enfield Square Mall IS empty and won’t survive much longer. All of this taken together represents a significant amount of Gen X culture that has been lost. It is the mission statement of The Museum of Lost Retail to preserve, document, research and explore Gen X retail, malls, vintage retail and abandoned retail. It is also the mission statement of The Museum of Lost Retail to preserve, clean, document and display artifacts, ephemera and other related items. If possible, The Museum of Lost Retail will act as a historical resource for interested persons.