An Ode to Lord's from Long-Time Employee

Barbara Bolzani has worked at Lord's Department Store for more than 20 years.

Lord's will close its doors one final time on Feb. 28 after 73 years in business.

Bolzani was also a surprise speaker at Friday night's "Celebrate Lord's" party held at the store.

Here is her Ode to Lord's (and a list of the many fun things she has done at the store over the years). Thanks for the memories, Barbara!

By Barbara Bolzani

I have been here for 21 years

Sharing in both sorrow and good cheer,

Meeting lots of people for whom I care

Opening at 5:00, weather fowl or fair

There’ve been a lot of changes since then

Some improvements to the store have been

Exciting to have happened, like when

I no longer had to rise at five to open

We may not be well-mannered all of the time

But when Mary comes, it’s our time to shine,

Cuz when she says, you sure look fine,

Nancy and I both say, “Thanks” at the very same time.

Tom says when the intercom goes off

It’s not a problem, it’s no big loss,

Since none of us has a voice that’s soft

And as long as Peg has no cold or cough.

Alice and I were both hit on the head

If it happened to someone else, they’d be dead,

Even though it felt like a big piece of lead

We were able to be up and could’ve been working with Fred.

My Easter Bunny job got lots of attention

One truckload of men need to be shunned,

But another one was full of fun

Stopping, and inviting us to come.

Though the invitation was quite charming

If Alice had accepted, would have been alarming,

I would need to act before there was harming

And have her jump to the bunny’s armings.

One Halloween night, so cold and clear

Nancy coerced me to volunteer

To usher the people from far and near

For the graveyard tour, too frigid to bear.

Of course on another Halloween

I thought in costume we would be seen

Embarrassingly though, the rest of the team

Simply wore their shirts and jeans.

As I started to work in a tattered robe and nightgown

Looking oddly like some old granny clown,

A gentleman asked if I had come to town

As is, but graciously did not put me down.

Bob Lobel came to take note of our gala affair

A fundraiser for a helmet for the firemen to wear,

Arthur, the magician, from his hat pulled a hare

It was a fun afternoon for everyone to share.

We’ve had a number of publicity shots

Especially when the weather gets hot,

The Boston media certainly gave a lot

And we surely gave it as good as we got!

I will always remember Nancy, as she’d call

“Barbara, put you lipstick on” for one and all

To hear, whether spring, summer, winter or fall

I know I had to prepare to have a ball.

After the news of Lord’s closing came through

People came in asking “Now what are we going to do?”

And the staff is just as puzzled too

As we all gather to say our humble adieu.

In conclusion, I want to thank everyone

For making this jot so, so much fun,

It seems I got to do everything under the sun

And I want to express my appreciation…

“Thanks for the Memories!”