chandler's assignment notebook

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Generations of Evanston schoolchildren bought their safety scissors, gym uniforms and Scout badges there. College students acquired chemistry textbooks and fraternity paddles. Collectors scrutinized old stamps and coins in imposing glass-covered cases.

During its 100-year history, other customers have departed Chandler’s Inc., with goods from the mundane to the eccentric: basketballs and ball-bearing compasses, fountain pens, old maps, even appliances and furniture-sometimes at inflated prices and occasionally filmed with dust.

And probably few patrons aren’t familiar with the Chandler’s Assignment Notebook, the famous August-to-August activity planner that has been a bible, companion and repository for decidedly unacademic jottings to millions of area students since the mid-1940s.

The labyrinthine retail institution at Sherman Avenue and Davis Street also had at least one notable clerk: theater and film actor John Malkovich. At the time, in the 1970s, he was also co-founding Steppenwolf Theater.

On Jan. 21, Chandler’s will close the doors of its flagship store for good, leaving a North Shore legacy rivaling Hackney’s hamburger restaurants or Peacock’s ice cream parlors.

The reasons have to do with a family drifting into other interests and across wide geography as well as the advent of office superstores that make staying competitive ever tougher.

Not everyone in Evanston is tearing up with nostalgia, though many are trying to synthesize the store’s history and bare-bulb charm together with its flaws: the occasionally surly service, the reliably overpriced goods, the sometimes time-warped inventory.

Nobody, however, questions the relationship of Chandler’s to the community.

Certainly, today’s Office Depots will never resemble the aisles that owners Morton and Jared Johnson remember dearly as teenagers, where they stocked pens and tubes of artist’s paste onto the shelves of the family bookstore.

While their grandmother might be in one room cutting poster board for a customer, an uncle would be extolling the pleasure of sitting at the wheel of a Crosley automobile, which Chandler’s also sold out of a catalog.

One of the 12-foot-long cars, shaped along the lines of what later became the immensely popular VW Beetle, was generally on hand for tire-kicking and hood-popping.

Last week longtime customers tread across the store’s speckled terrazzo floors for a quick browse and a final farewell to favored clerks.

A pile of Beach’s brand pocket “Common Sense” traveler’s expense books, yellowing around the edges, occupied one shelf. Inside are columns for comments about business meetings, as well as space for jotting down mileage and ruminations about the driving conditions. Not bad for 50 cents; except that the calendar says “1988.”

A fall ritual for Evanston High School students was to march up the marble staircase to the upper floors to order one’s orange and blue Wildkit gym uniform, name emblazoned in felt on the back, then march back down to the first floor to load up on rulers and other essentials.

“Chandler’s was a lot of things to a lot of people. This is really old Evanston,” shopper Jean Esch commented while hunting for a liquidation bargain in the used-books section in Chandler’s basement, which the Johnson brothers say still contains 50,000 titles.

In a 1985 New York Times Magazine profile, Malkovich recalled his own days clerking at the store:

“I got in a lot of arguments with the owners, but I liked them in a perverse way. They liked me. It was an old-fashioned little department store with a little elevator operator, a little gift-wrap section. I took an interest in it.”

The Johnsons, who in the 1970s operated seven Chandler’s stores and now will be left with only their retail store and manuacturing center in Highland Park, were behind the counters this week exchanging farewells with customers.

The closing, they say, reflects a personal choice, rather than a business imperative. The proliferation of office superstores, however, makes Chandler’s seem to have been semiretired for some time.

“Jerry” Johnson says he looks forward to retiring for real at his home near Danville, Ill. “Mortie” Johnson says his interests have shifted from retailing to manufacturing.

Their family patriarch, H.E. “Harry” Chandler, acquired “Miss Jennie Simpson’s” small school-supply and confectionery store in 1895. The existing building went up in 1929.

A few retailers, a residential developer and a hotel have already expressed interest in the $1.5 million, three- and five-story building, according to Jonathan Perman, executive director of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. Perman, whose first job at age 13 was as a retail clerk and weekend elevator operator at Chandler’s, called the spot “one of the hottest properties in Evanston.”

Though its quainter features certainly are not the lure for modern developers, it’s worth noting that the building contains the city’s last manually operated passenger elevator, a glass-doored contraption that allows the curious, usually children, to peer into the shaft and follow the cables.

Sid Doolittle, partner in the Chicago retail consulting firm of McMillan-Doolittle and former neighbor of Jared Johnson, said interest among family members in keeping the business afloat and competitive had waned in recent years.

Numerous Chandler descendants own stakes of varying sizes in the business, but most live elsewhere or have other interests, Doolittle said.

“But the story is really one of family-owned businesses facing competition and change from well-organized, well-financed, and well-informed competitors who are able to perform their services better and cheaper for the consumer,” said Doolittle.

Doolittle said while Chandler’s often had to charge more, the store did not necessarily make higher profits.

“Typically, their prices were astonishing,” said Brian Becharas, 38, who grew up in Evanston. “And they didn’t seem to have anyone who knew how to do snappy merchandising.”

One customer recalls buying 25-cent postcards at Chandler’s before Christmas. When she went back last week to purchase more of the same during their so-called liquidation sale, they were marked “Half off: 31 cents.”

On a recent morning, Jared Johnson was bidding thanks to a faithful customer, who praised the festive window displays that the store put up every holiday.

“That’s what we get all day long. I’ve stood here as little old ladies cried their eyes out,” Johnson said. “Everything’s finite, everything’s finite.”

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Does Chandler's Planner still exist?

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• Victoria h.
• 115 friends
• 296 reviews

All throughout high school and college I used the same kind-of planner. I tried buying other ones and kept coming back to this one. Now, I can't find it. I even googled it and still no luck. Does anyone know where I can find a Chandler's Planner? Do they even still exist? I can't even find a picture of it to show you. Maybe it's sold under a different name? I looked at other planners and they all just have too much extra stuff. Chandler's was perfect - thin, the right size, and simple. I know Hallmark used to sell it and maybe Office Depot. I looked online @ both stores and neither one have them. I'm going to check out Office Depot tomorrow. Thoughts?

• Chicago, IL
• 250 friends
• 883 reviews

get a blackberry :)

Rhonda, how I would love to be able to use an electronic planner. I just can't. I like seeing things on paper, being able to flip and doodle and such. It's basically the same reason I like actual books as opposed to e-books.

• 554 reviews

answers.yahoo.com/questi… juliehalpern.com/blog/20… Just google "chandler assignment notebook" and you'll find many people grieving its loss.

makes sense...I use to use Day runner if you can't find Chandlers.

or maybe it was daytimer? one of those

• 612 friends
• 570 reviews

memories... from the corner of my mind.... such a staple of my childhood...

Darn it!!!! Any suggestions for a replacement?

• 207 friends
• 269 reviews

Moleskine like this one: moleskines.com/moleskine…      but soft cover and in black. I've used one the past 2 ears. Onl thing that is annoing is the labeling is a little faint and the holidas aren't on there, so if u don't know when Easter is, u have to look at a different calender.

• Christmas D.
• 157 friends
• 179 reviews

I too lamented the extinction of Chandler's.  For many years I used an At-A-Glance planner that was similar in size, thickness and page layout (weekly on 2 pages).  You can probably still find it at any office supply store.  Check the student planner kiosks that they start putting out about this time of year.

• Astronomer Joe G.
• 570 friends

I get my planners at the dollar store. Two Page month, fits in my inside coat pocket.

I ended up getting at-a-glance planner. I have a moleskine and don't really like it, that's why I wanted to get a chandlers planner (again). Thanks for all the advice & suggestions.

This conversation is older than 2 months and has been closed to new posts.

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Saturday, July 19, 2008

• Chandler Plan

16 comments:

Have you looked at Office Depot, Staples, and such? They usually have an extensive collection. :), T

I went to Staples, and they had some but not with enough address book potential. Still have to try the "Office" duo.

Julie, I, too, just found out that Chandler's has closed for business. I have used the assignment notebook for over 20 years and am dreading a change. My son uses a Moleskine pocket daily planner. His doesn't have the address capabilities but there is a version with one. I think the page paper is flimsier than Chandlers but it has a similar set-up. ShipTheWeb.com has them.

Julie, I did a bit of a office store search yesterday and found at OfficeMax an At-A-Glance that had the academic year and the address book capability (I didn't like that it wasn't a white background on the pages. I also found a Day-Minder that the pages were almost identical to Chandlers but only had 8-9 pages of phone/address pages and not divided like an address book.

I have been looking for a Chandlers also, because I always get them this time of year for the School year, and just sadly found out that they are no more. I should of known since they have not been on the store shelves. Thank you all for the info as well.

Does anyone else feel a tremendous sense of loss here? It's been such an integral part of planning my life for so long...I haven't found an alternative that I'm not disappointed with. Good luck.

wow i just found out chandlers is out of business... i googled it and found your page julie...i am amazed that are others like me! ive been using chandlers since 87! i'm sad.

I'm another broken-hearted Chandler's Notebook User. (Is it possible to feel this sense of grief over a day planner?) How can a company with this popular of a product go out of business? How come no one else makes anything close to this product? Everthing I saw at Office Depot begins Jan 1, 2009 so it's obviously useless. This blows!

i was devastated last week when i found out the company went out of business - i have been a dedicated user forever.. i think i started in jr high - that was 1977 .. i picked up an assignment notebook at my college but it is just not the same - i always kept the past yr as sort of a diary of the yr - my shelf will never be the same.. it is a travesty that a co that has been in business since 1947 had to close so abruptly - there was an order form in my 2007-2008 edition so what happened????

Hello Friends It's a shame these assignment books are now out of production. ;( I can only imagine the nolstagia invoked from their void, not being able to schedule your daily routine with your favorite planner. If it is of any consolation check out these two following academic calendar and consider them for replacement http://www.shoplet.com/office/db/HOD27502.html http://www.shoplet.com/office/db/AAG7080705.html thanks and have a great day Angela

I found your blog while searching to order my Chandler's notebook. This is very sad. I've used them since the early 80's. We had a Chandler's store in downtown Evanston, IL. I recently threw out my Chandlers from high school after holding on to them for years. This saddens me. NOTHING can compare. I'm headed back for another degree and a Chandlers is what I needed to keep my life in order - Ughh!

An industry friend told me to Google "Chandler's" because he knew that we (House of Doolittle) produce a student planner very similar to the old Chandler's product. The product is the HOD275. It comes in blue or black and besides being a weekly with the month on each page, address, section and sturdy cover, it is also made using recycled materials.

I also was an avid Chandler's user. I have been looking for them for my daughter who is going to college. This is best thing I found: daytimer.com. The product order number is 19044(beige) or 19045(teal). This is the weekly planner. There is also a monthly planner. Hope that helps.

My son just started college and I was looking for something like my old Chandler's assignment notebook and am SO SAD to find out they no longer exist. I started using them in 1971 when we moved to Evanston. I discovered them when we went to buy my books (a shock since I had never had to buy books for a public school before) at Chandler's in downtown Evanston. I used one all though college and turned all my friends onto it.

I also found your page looking for Chandler's notebooks. I started using them in 1965 or 6, in jr. high. I wanted to get one for my daughter starting college! Looking for something now...

I found this looking for Chandler's for my school. Located this and it is close! http://www.write-stuff.com/category.cfm?category=33

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Planner Geeks Unite for an Organized 2015

Did you have an assignment notebook when you were younger? I loved mine. It was a beautiful example of collage and an altered book before I even knew what that was. I would doll up my August-to-August Chandler’s Assignment Notebook (Chicago-based company in the 1940s and closed in 1995) with stickers, drawings, and cut-outs from magazines stating my teenage pride and angst. Clear packing tape was my adhesive of choice. I color coded everything with my Stabilo Boss highlighters. Of all the journals I ever owned, I wish I kept those.

I gave up the Chandler’s Notebook , and graduated to a university-sanctioned notebook (AKA free). Then Day Timers and Franklin Planners came along in the workplace. I was a young professional and I didn’t think to accessorize my planner, to make it fun and colorful, except for the occasional highlighter and red pen for deadlines.

Fast forward to today. We’re all familiar with using regular calendars to plot our busy days as parents, and I’m not knocking online or electronic calendars. I just love paper! I’ve used a Mom’s Planner for the last three or four years. Mom’s calendars or planners have space for listing all family members activities. Next year I’m going back to my Franklin Planner (picture above)… and going back to making it my own. I’m so excited that I already started decorating. Lately I’ve been using washi tape and stickers to make the pages pop . Three inch by four inch cardstock (i.e., Project Life scrapbook cards) are used as weekly reminders or just inspiration. I was inspired by a pen friend who shared some of her paper goods. (A scrapbooker, I am not–but I will paper craft!)

Now there are companies like:

• Filofax (origin: loose-leaf system to hold engineering data in a small portable binder, file-of-facts);
• Blue Sky (check out Sugar Paper); and
• Erin Condren Design (maker of Life Planner).

These have exploded in popularity among planner geeks. You can also find upscale planners by Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton, and Tory Burch. So why are agendas and planners so popular? They’re just calendars in journal form, right? In the end what it holds is our life in progress, so why not make it personal and fun.

You’d be amazed at the variety and enthusiasm people have for their planners! Just try searching these keywords on Instagram or Pinterest: #plannergeek, #plannernerd, #planneraddict, #plannerlove, #plannerjunkie. You can also try looking up #filofax, #filofaxlove, #kikik, #erincondren, and #simplifiedplanner.

Are you a planner geek? How do you organize your calendar? We’d love to know!

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10 thoughts on “ planner geeks unite for an organized 2015 ”.

I’m thrilled to see a planner post here! I am a long time planner geek. All the tech in the world can’t replace a good paper planner for me. I went all out and bought a mythical Hobonichi Techo this year. I love to use up scrapbooking supplies (and, of course, buy new supplies) in my planner.

Thanks for commenting, Kym! It’s been great hearing from long time planner pals… (we aren’t alone! hahaha)! Hobonichi Techo – are you loving it? It would be great to see some pics of your planner layouts, too! Happy 2015!

I’ve been a planner geek since I was a teenager. I homeschool, work from home, attend classes now and then and organize the local homeschool group–all from my Planner Pad (plannerpads.com). I highly recommend it! I don’t use mine the exact way they do (the “funnel down” method) but the different areas give me plenty of space for everything I need. And I totally cover it with my own art, stickers, washi tape, the works. I made some of my own stickers this year, including Phoenix, Hermione, Dany from Game of Thrones, Wednesday Addams… And on the cover page, I drew in Maleficent, Chihiro from Spirited Away, Falcor from Neverending Story, Poison Ivy, Hellboy and Liz Sherman, an ewok… It’s my favorite planner yet! 😀

I do something similar for my journal, which is a combo art/writing journal. I get a new one every year from Barnes & Noble for my birthday; I like their spiral-bound, blank page journals with sturdy covers.

Hi, Sara! That’s great that you’ve made your planner work for your needs… that’s what it’s about, right? And, artwork, handcrafted stickers – love it! Maybe we should have a planner geek roundup here at GeekMom?

I love planners! I’m a to do list person and haven’t found an app that can really replace my paper planner. Thanks for posting and giving me more options to look into.

I tried apps, too, Faith. Agree, paper planners are number one. I think there’s a paper planner revolution going on. 😉 It would be neat to hear about what you think of the options! Thanks for commenting!

I didn’t realize Chandler’s was no longer in business. I used to decorate mine each year with stickers and other embellishments. I kept a few, and recently found them in a box full of my high school keepsakes. It was fun to go through them. I have now graduated to an electronic calendar, but I also like paper and keep a Mom calendar at home too.

Amy, thanks for visiting! Yes, sad about Chandler’s, right? But how fun that you found yours. How do you like your Mom calendar and paper planner as an accompaniment to your electronic one? Long time ago, I tried to use my MS Outlook calendar and print out my weeklies. It didn’t last long.

I miss my Franklin planner! Every year at this time I consider a shift back to a paper planner, I feel like I was more on top of things when I had one. My husband has stuck to his Franklin all these years, despite his company-issued iPhone, iPad and various scheduling apps.

AH, Jennifer… fellow Franklin users! I imagine your husband might use the standard issue “classic” design. Have you checked out their offerings lately? I had no idea how much their designs have evolved, and have included more whimsy and female-centric prints. Did you choose a paper planner or calendar for the year? This year I chose a weekly planner. I think their daily pages are too much for my use. Thanks for leaving a comment! 🙂

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Chandlers Assignment Notebook, Monthly and Weekly assignment notebook: 8.5X11inches, 120 pages Paperback – 17 Jan. 2022

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The 2018 all about richard calendar (part i).

For Richard’s birthday this year I gave him something I knew he would love and cherish more than anything else: a calendar all about him.

For some reason I saved nearly everything “Richard” since we began dating The First Time Around during high school c. 1975.

I guess I must have known he was the one for me.

Little did I know he was the one for him, too.

Posts about each month coming soon!

Evanston RoundTable

Evanston's community newspaper since 1998

Eye on Evanston: Thoughts on Design | Evanston’s cultural and commercial landmarks

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When we think of landmarks we generally think of historically or architecturally significant buildings. Many of the 150 places mentioned in Design Evanston’s book Evanston: 150 Years 150 Places fall into these categories. A few do not. Institutions can be culturally important to a community without occupying a significant building or place. Longtime retail or service providers, too, can develop into a unifying element of a neighborhood or a shared memory of a city. All residents of Evanston have personal lists of landmarks, of places that are significant in their lives. We acknowledge here a few of the many places that come to mind as part of our collective perception and the history of Evanston.

Amazinggrace, Chicago Avenue and Main Street

Amazingrace started as a coffeehouse in Northwestern University’s Scott Hall in 1971 and immediately became a focus for music. The collective hosted such greats as the Grateful Dead, John Prine, Keith Jarrett, Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner and nearby Evanston resident Steve Goodman (in photo). In 1974 a loyal group of “Gracers” created a new Amazingrace at The Main in south Evanston. 

Amazingrace became an icon of the youth culture of the times and closed after its short but vibrant life in 1978. The original building was demolished and replaced in 2016 by a nine-story mixed-use development.

Bookman’s Alley, 1721 Sherman Ave. (rear)

Roger Carlson opened Bookman’s Alley in 1980. The store boasted 40,000 volumes and occupied an expansive one-story shed located off the alley connecting Sherman and Benson Avenues. The shop’s unique ambiance came not just from its enormous selection of used books, but from its comfortable groupings of rugs, antique furniture and lamps, and the maps, paintings and posters hung on the few walls not covered with books. Carlson closed Bookman’s Alley in 2013 but the unique space continues today as Bookends & Beginnings under the ownership of Nina Barrett.

Chandler’s, 630 Davis St.

Although Chandler’s occupies a page in the Evanston: 150 book as a significant building, many remember it as a cultural and commercial landmark as well. In an October 2021 essay in the Evanston RoundTable , Kris Hartzell and Jenny Thompson say that Chandler’s was in business for a century – from 1895 to its closing in 1995. In the 1940s Jared Johnson, chairman of Chandler’s board, designed the Chandler’s Assignment Notebook . The book featured a calendar that reflected the academic school year. “The notebook became a much beloved mainstay of students and was still printed after the store closed.”

Crystal Table Water, 2318 Ridge Ave.

This bottled water company was started in 1896 when three natural springs were discovered in the backyard of this house built in 1887. Crystal Table Water was bottled onsite and sold on the North Shore for over 70 years. In her 2021 E-book, Frogtown: The Story of the North Ridge, Kris Hartzell reports, “Remnant buildings from the business can still be seen in the alley behind the house. At one time there was a large bottling plant building just about where Colfax now crosses the property.”

Evanston Sanitarium and Training School, 1916-1918 Asbury Ave.

Dr. Isabella Garnett , a member of one of Evanston’s first African American families, started the Evanston Sanitarium and Training School in 1914 to care for the growing African American community with her husband, Dr. Arthur Butler. Prior to this, since neither Evanston Hospital nor St. Francis Hospital would admit African Americans, patients had to travel to the south or west side of Chicago for treatment. In 1930 the Community Hospital of Evanston replaced the sanitarium in a brick house at 2026 Brown Ave. Evanston’s two exclusively white hospitals began to admit African American patients in the 1950s. The Community Hospital, which had expanded to a larger location in 1952, closed in 1980.

Fanny’s Restaurant, 1601 Simpson St.

Fanny’s Restaurant, started in 1946, was a notable Evanston eatery cited by Chicago Magazine as one of the top 40 Chicago-area restaurants ever. Patrons included the Marshall Field family. The salad dressing and meat sauce won international acclaim and are still available today. The restaurant closed in 1987 due to the health of its founder, Fanny Lazzar . The building was converted to lofts in 2005. In 2014 Evanston caterer Feast & Imbibe opened the former restaurant space. Feast & Imbibe was designated one of the top 10 wedding caterers in the Chicago area.

Lemoi Ace Hardware, 1008 Davis St.

Lemoi originated as a sheet metal repair shop (Peterson-Lemoi) in 1894 on the site that became the Chandler’s Building. Peter Lemoi wanted a more mainstream retail operation and launched Lemoi Hardware, Evanston’s oldest retail business still in operation, in 1895. Today, under the stewardship of fourth-generation family member President Ralph Lemoi-Dupuis, Lemoi is thriving. Once a True Value co-op, Lemoi Hardware became an Ace co-op in the 1950s. Scott Evans is the current manager. Ralph’s great-grandfather, Peter, and grandfather, Ralph, are pictured in this photo.

The Toy Tinkers, 805 Greenwood St.

In the early 1910s, Charles Pajeau designed the first Tinkertoy set in his garage after watching children play with pencils, sticks and empty spools of thread. The business expanded to shops at 805 Greenwood St. and later moved to a four-story plant at 2012 Ridge Ave. Pajeau and his partner, Robert Pettit, introduced the new toy at the 1914 American Toy Fair and a year later over a million sets were sold. In 1952, when Pajeau died, sales of Tinkertoy sets were estimated at 2.8 million and employment at the Evanston plant stood at 100. After a series of sales, all operations were moved out of Evanston by 1973. The brand is now owned by Hasbro.

This essay expands on content that appears in Evanston:150 Years 150 Places, 2015.

Design Evanston’s “Eye on Evanston” articles focus on Evanston’s design history and advocate for good design. Visit  designevanston.org to learn more about the organization.

8 replies on “Eye on Evanston: Thoughts on Design | Evanston’s cultural and commercial landmarks”

You forgot the Walker Bros restaurants in Evanston. Two on Sherman and one on Central…fore runner to the big mac, great fries and desserts.

Jack! Fabulous for nudging those far away memories. Thanks for this. There must be more…Please dig deeper when you have time and an inspiration. The Varsity? The Valencia? Cooley’s Cupboard?We would come to Evanston for these experiences…

Jack, Hello to an old sunfish colleague. I was a bit disappointed that Lake Street Church (First Baptist) was not on your list. As the oldest public building in Evanston it has a history – as the church that the black residents left because of their treatment just a few years after its founding. LSC and 2nd Baptist are still working on resolution to the history. Of course the steeple on the church is a landmark for the city and the church has been a leader in social issues since the 50s.

hey jack, thanks for doing this piece…I LOVED IT. spent many hours at AMAZING GRACE, fanny’s and alot of the other places. enjoy your seder. andy spatz

Late 60s, early 70s. Kind of a golden age. Amazing Grace was a magical place. I hung out in Chandler’s, particularly the used book dept in the basement. We ate at Fanny’s, one of the many influences that contributed to my fascination with Europe. We took it all for granted.

Thanks Rob. I appreciate your comments. FYI there are seven previous Thoughts on Design essays in the RoundTable’s archives.

Jack OMG. I totally agree that landmarks are so much more than architecturally distinguished buildings. Thank you for this great trip down memory lane. I have lived at the corner of Forest and Main Street, since the mid-1970s, and remember when Amazing Grace was a short walk away. I also remember our trips to Chandler’s to stock up on school supplies for my daughters. And from my childhood, as a kid growing up in Winnetka, I remember going to Fanny’s with my family every couple of weeks. I remember the checked tablecloths and loving Fanny’s fried chicken with its thick crispy crust. Every tool I currently own is from Lemois.

Thanks Stuart. I’m glad I, too, lived near Amazingrace in its heyday. And, yes, Design Evanston’s other Thoughts on Design essays in the RoundTable’s archive cover a broad definition of what design is. We hope to stimulate more discussion in the City about the importance of design in our community!

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