The Devon Pawn Shop: A Rogers Park institution tells a different story of the American Dream
A feature article profiling the Devon Pawn Shop in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, exploring how this small family-run business offers a community service far removed from the entertainment-driven portrayal of pawn shops on TV shows like "Pawn Stars." The piece uses Carl Sandburg's poem about pawn shops as a framing device to discuss the shop's role in the community, the stories behind items brought in, and how the business represents a unique part of the American Dream narrative — one built on trust, dignity, and helping neighbors through financial hardship.
Key quotes
The pawn-shop man knows hunger, / And how far hunger has eaten the heart / Of one who comes with an old keepsake.
They tell stories.
This is a story about a pawn shop, about the Devon Pawn Shop, one in a row of small businesses in Rogers Park.
From the article
You might also wanna read
Finding Community and Grief at Costco: A Personal Essay on Retail as Ritual
A personal essay exploring the author's resistance to and eventual embrace of Costco, framing the warehouse store as a place of community, r
TASTE·2mo ago
How Loehmann's Became My Anchor in My Chaotic 20s
A personal narrative essay about the author's deep emotional attachment to Loehmann's, the now-defunct discount department store. The piece
harpersbazaar.com·7h ago
"We Hold These Truds": Inside the bizarre merchandise of America's 250th birthday commission
A critical and humorous examination of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission's (America250) commemorative merchandise for the nation's 250t
Defector·7d ago
Reconciling America's Founding Ideals With Its Historical Realities
A personal narrative exploring the tension between America's founding ideals as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the nation'
harpersbazaar.com·6d ago
Review: "Rebels and Outliers" Captures the Solitude and Spirit of the Small-Town American West
A review of John M. Glionna's essay collection "Rebels and Outliers: Real Stories of the American West," which brings the small-town America
lareviewofbooks.org·5d ago
Review: "Rebels and Outliers" Captures the Solitude and Spirit of the Small-Town American West
A review of John M. Glionna's essay collection "Rebels and Outliers: Real Stories of the American West," which brings the small-town America
lareviewofbooks.org·6d ago
Comments
Sign in to join the conversation.
No comments yet. Be the first.