Once upon a time, on Wednesday nights between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there was Stag Night – an evening of holiday shopping for men only. Its origins are lost to the mists of time. We’ve looked back through the musty, blue-bound books of the Chestnut Hill Local archives at the Chestnut Hill Conservancy, and darned if we could discover precisely when this holiday tradition began.

Hearken back to Dec. 2, 1982, and a story authored by editor Ruth Russell refers to those early days:

“Originally created as Stag Night so that area men who worked in Center City could shop on Chestnut Hill, the evening was re-designated Stag and Doe Night during the mid-seventies,” she wrote, quoting Al Thorell, Jr., onetime executive director of the Chestnut Hill Development Group.

Luckily, we were able to determine exactly when Stag Night made the transition to a night for both men and women.

We found a story dated Dec. 5, 1974, that led with this gem of a sentence:

“Originally conceived as Stag Night – a special after-hours shopping experience for the convenience of men only – the annual event has been ‘liberated’ into a Stag and Doe Night.”

You’ve come a long way, baby.

To put things in perspective, this is back when advertisements for the Chestnut Hill Bootery promoted “Oomphies” – comfortable little slippers that “pamper your feet with soft, flexible soles and a tricot lining” – and a family pack of ground beef sold for 79 cents a pound at Caruso’s Market. Battin & Lunger Pharmacists was still on the corner of Germantown and Evergreen avenues. You could peruse the holiday specials at Pic-a-Deli in Market Square. You could order lunch and a brew at Albrecht’s Bavarian Corner at Germantown Avenue and Hartwell Lane. At Conor/McGoldrick car dealers, 7700 Germantown Ave., a used 1974 Datsun was on sale for $5,095. A steal.

So, that was when Stag Night became Stag and Doe Night, but the founding of Stag Night, when the likes of Ozzie Nelson and Ward Cleaver roamed the earth, eluded us.

Ah … but that doesn’t mean stories haven’t been handed down. Courtney O’Neill, executive director of the Chestnut Hill Business Association, has heard them.

“I started here three years ago as the executive director and I got a crash course in all the traditions of Chestnut Hill,” she recalls. “Over the years that I’ve been here, I’ve heard different little anecdotes, but that’s where I first heard about Stag Night. The women would come and leave the lists of items they wanted at each shop – the wives would go around and pick things out ahead of time. Then the husbands would come to the stores, and there would be drinks, refreshments and food.”

(Open to question is whether – in contrast to today’s more genteel wine, cheese and cookies – hard liquor was served in the shops. That might have loosened the purse strings just a bit. As one longtime local wag opined, “it was drunken husbands being told what to buy.”)

Often, the shop owners wouldn’t need a list because the women of the neighborhood frequented those establishments on a regular basis, and the owners and salesclerks got to know their customers’ preferences by heart.

“They would know that Mrs. Smith keeps coming in and looking at a particular necklace,” O’Neill says. “She loves it. Even if there wasn’t a list, it was just really good customer service.”

In many ways, O’Neill says, some things haven’t changed. As a former store owner herself, she knows the importance of keeping the customer satisfied.

“Many of our shopkeepers know their clientele really well,” she says. “They’re almost like family, and that’s one of the things that’s so wonderful about shopping in Chestnut Hill. You know that that is how you make a difference and that you’re not like a big box store. You actually know your customers.”

Beyond that singular service, O’Neill says, every effort has been made to continue on the tradition of Stag and Doe Night. There’s still a roaming Santa Claus. There are carolers and brass ensembles tootling holiday standards. Many of the shops do offer wine and cheese. There’s a jitney – called the “sleigh ride” – to ferry shoppers up and down Germantown Avenue. Parking is free. Restaurants do a brisk business.

Roast chestnuts, of course, have gone by the wayside. An intoxicating aroma, yes, but chestnuts are expensive, and many people don’t care for the taste.

Shops along the Avenue count on Stag and Doe Night, as they always have, to finish the year strong, and so they stock products that they believe will sell well, often one-of-a-kind items. Last year was tough because it rained each Wednesday night. The final night was rainy, too, but shoppers came out of the woodwork.

Regardless of the weather, Stag and Doe Night will probably continue in Chestnut Hill so long as there is a Christmas.

“It’s a tradition that draws a big crowd,” O’Neill says. “It draws the whole community. People from Chestnut Hill wait for Wednesday night to do their shopping. They like the atmosphere and they like the camaraderie.

“It’s also a draw regionally, and we see people from all over the place – from Center City, Ambler, the Main Line – who like the tradition of coming and seeing Santa, hearing the music, seeing the window decorations and grabbing a bite to eat. This tradition is not manufactured. It’s real. Some places try to look like us, but we’re the real deal.”