by Library Docent Volunteer Andy Ludlum
One evening in 1937, grocer Sylvan Goldman noticed a problem. Shoppers, often women with children, struggled to carry heavy baskets under their arms. Once the baskets got too full, they stopped buying. Looking around his office, Goldman spotted a folding chair and had an idea. With help from an employee, he built a prototype: a folding frame on wheels with two baskets stacked where the seat would be. It was the first shopping cart.
While the cart didn’t catch on right away, it soon became a symbol of modern convenience and spread across the country. After World War II, carts helped attract customers to larger supermarkets, including those in Ventura County.
Read the Story: Museum of Ventura County