A lot of people in the plastics industry have fond memories of Stanley Gault, the former CEO of Rubbermaid Inc. and later chairman and CEO of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Gault was in the news recently in his hometown, Wooster, Ohio, when he announced plans to close the H. Freedlander Co. department store at the beginning of 2009.

This story from Wooster's The Daily Record explains that the venerable store will close after 125 years in business.

"When I bought Freedlander's nine years ago, it was for two reasons -- to maintain the presence of a major facility in the downtown area and to provide employment for the Freedlander's associates," Gault told the newspaper. "It was never meant to be a long-term investment. I didn't buy it expecting it to be a financially rewarding investment and it hasn't been. We offer quality, brand-name merchandise and services you can't get anywhere else in town. There were no false advertisements for sale events, but people just didn't support it."

Following the Christmas shopping season, a developer will raze the building and plans to replace it with a 30,000-square-foot development that includes retail stores and condominiums.