Larry Winslow has been active in Helena community activities for the past 30 years

While he'll soon no longer stock the shelves and stroll the aisles at JC Penney in the Capital Hill Mall, Larry Winslow will remain visible in the Helena community.

A few months short of 60 years old, Winslow is kicking off his last week on the job as a senior customer service merchandiser. The title may not mean a lot to people, who see Winslow for what he is in Helena: a community institution.

The list of community activities that take up Winslow's time is astonishing: he was involved in the founding of the Race for the Cure. He was in charge of Penney's Golden Rule Awards program, which gave him a chance to learn about all the good deeds being done around town. And he's active on the Fair Grounds Board.

"Working with Penney's, I got introduced to a lot of community activities," he said. "The fairgrounds has always been a big thing in my life. My kids liked to play at the duck pond."

Needless to say, working in retail has changed a great deal in four decades. When he started with JC Penney in Lewistown in 1962, "we were still putting items in the pneumatic tube to be taken upstairs and be rung up," Winslow said.

After a stint in the military in the late '60s, Winslow returned to Montana. He was living in Missoula (and working at JC Penney) in 1974 when he was transferred to Helena.

"I got married that same week they transferred me," he said. "A whole new life started for me at that time."

While JC Penney has been a fixture in Helena for decades, the store itself has changed a great deal. When Winslow began working here, the store was on Last Chance Gulch, next to what's now US Bank.

The inventory was different too.

"We were the only sporting goods store in the Penney company in this area," Winslow said. "We sold boats, we sold rifles, we even drilled bowling balls."

Winslow was shoe department manager when the store moved to the mall in 1984, eventually working his way up to an informal assistant manager position.

Spending 30 years in customer service in the same town means Winslow seems to know just about everyone.

"You can't even be in the lunch room with him when he's reading the obituaries," said co-worker Dave Shea.

"This is a real people business," Winslow said. "I know half the people in town. Sometimes that's good, but sometimes there are more problems than you can take care of through the day."

And even though he's "retiring," Winslow still plans to be active around Helena, whether it's with the United Way, or manning the concession stand at American Legion baseball games.

"I'll still be a visible person," he said.

John Harrington can be reached at 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.