MOISERS SHOP TO CLOSE AFTER 120 YEARS
THE owners of one of Grimsby’s oldest shops say they have been overwhelmed by the amount of love from well wishers after announcing it is to close next year.
For four generations, Moisers has served thousands of families in the Grimsby area with quality prams, cribs and baby items and sewing machines. But the current owners say there is not a fifth generation willing to take on the family business and so it will close in March. The shop was opened in 1900 by Fred Moiser. Mike Moiser, 59, said: “There have been so many emails, posts on social media and phone calls from all the different generations, as well as new customers. We have mixed emotions about the closure. There is pride and also sadness.
“The pride is in the four generations that have provided the service and the sadness is that it is coming to an end.”
They said they were touched by the number of messages wishing them well and the number of photographs of babies people sent them, remembering how they provided them with prams and cribs. Mike added the Covid pandemic and the impact of Brexit, already felt at ports bringing in stock, had taken their toll.
He said: “We are heading to a pensionable age, can you believe it? We did not fancy the prospects for the future.
“We have children but they are employed elsewhere and there isn’t a fifth generation that is interested in continuing it..
“It is getting hard work both physically and mentally. The Covid pandemic has made us, like many others, evaluate our lives and look at our work and life balance. We have decided to lean more to the life side.”
Th They have h run the hb business i alongside l id Mike’s Mik ’ brother John and his wife Jacquie.
They are the fourth generation, after Fred and Emma Moiser started in Freeman Street in 1900. It was taken over by his son Vic and his wife Marion, followed by Mike and John’s dad Frank, who owned it with his wife Shirley.
Clare, who taught for 30 years at Signhills Infants School in Cleethorpes, before joining the business five years ago, said the pandemic had created a new way of marketing and selling their products. Husband Mike has been in the business for 40 years along with his brother, John. He looked back on the changing styles and prices of prams and sewing machines over the decades. His previous generations delivered with a horse and cart and customers came to and from the store by tram, back in the day. Mike said: “When parents are expecting, it is an emotional time of their lives and lovely to get to know them. It is not like buying a car. There is much more of a personal relationship and we shall miss that most. He said he will continue keeping up his sewing machine skills from home but is really looking forward to going on more walks with Clare, having already enjoyed long treks on the Viking Way, the Pennine Way and the Yorkshire Wolds.
ute: “Words can’t explain the massive great hole that has been left in our lives. Love always both of you. Fly high until we meet again.” Another tribute said: “Lucy, we watched you grow from a little girl playing on the trampoline into a caring, compassionate young woman. You were passionate about animals, a beautiful person inside and out. “When you met Sean, it was as if he made you complete. You were a wonderful couple who will be so greatly missed by all who knew you.” Andrew Dowsett wrote: “In honour of Sean Cooper and his wife Lucy. My deepest condolences to both families during this heartbreaking time.
“Sean was such a happy, cheerful great guy who was always smiling. You weren’t just a friend you were an inspiration. You left too soon until we meet again mate may your soul rest in peace.”
Sean was working as part of 17 squadron based in the US which functions as a test and evaluation squadron for the Lockerheed Martin F-35B aircraft.
The couple were repatriated to the UK by RAF colleagues over the weekend of September 26 and 27 in emotional scenes with both caskets draped in the Union flag.
412 Test Wing Command Chief Master Sergeant posted on Facebook: “This weekend, we took part in a dignified transfer and said goodbye to our friends, Sean and Lucy Cooper, as they began their journey back the United Kingdom. “It was a beautiful ceremony and our hearts go out to their family, friends, and the Royal Air Force’s 17 Squadron.”
The Veterinary Hospital Lincoln, where Lucy worked as a receptionist before undertaking her nurse training, posted on Facebook: “Lucy’s love for the profession, and her compassion for her patients proved her to be a wonderful veterinary nurse, and an asset to our team.
“Lucy was a great friend as well as a beloved colleague, and her enthusiasm for a night out was infectious - on many a Christmas party she was the star of the dance floor.
“We had always hoped that one day when she was ready for a more quiet life that she might come back home, and we would work with her again.
“Nothing we say or do will be enough recognition for her, but we will remember Lucy as a hardworking, empathetic friend and colleague who we could share a hug with after a hard day, celebrate with after a clinical success, and who would always bring along a smile.
“She will be missed, and never forgotten.”
The California Highway Patrol reported that the fatal collision happened at around 3.15am on Friday, September 4, on Avenue L just east of 47th Street West in Quartz Hill. According to the report Lucy and Sean were crossing Avenue L when they were hit by a 2012 Toyota Prius that was travelling westbound on
Avenue L at approximately 45 to 50mph. The driver, a 25-year-old named Jonathan Hong, told police he was unable to see the pedestrians due to the poor lighting conditions. An inquest in Lincoln on Thursday, December 3, heard that Lucy
suffered multiple injuries as a result of the collision. Coroner Paul Smith concluded that both deaths were caused by a road traffic collision. To leave a tribute to Sean and Lucy you can visit their MuchLoved page for more details.