The recent death of Roger Furst, a lawyer and rock climber who partnered with a friend in 1967 to start a business that turned into Eastern Mountain Sports, brings some Wellesley history to mind as well.
Furst and Alan McDonough opened their first store in Wellesley at 189 Linden St., and called it The Mountain Shop. You could buy nice warm parkas (as seen in this old Wellesley Townsman ad) and other outdoor gear. Their business expanded, including a climbing school in North Conway, N.H., and now totals more than 60 stores (not sure when The Mountain Shop/EMS closed in Wellesley…). Furst and McDonough left EMS in 1979; McDonough went on to start Rugged Bear, another ex-Wellesley business.
(Thanks to reader LR for making note of this.)