The narrow, slightly warped boards on the floor creaked as you walked. There was no shine to this floor, no discernible finish at all, just swept clean wood. As you walked down the aisles you were surrounded. On each side were long wooden boxes, divided into bins. These boxes were on legs but so closely fitted together as to appear as one. They stretched from the front of the store to the back. Those bins, both large and small, contained all matter of goods. Everything from toys to clothes to cleaning supplies. There was candy and cards and ribbon and paper. Books and magazines. At certain times of the year they even had little turtles and different colored live baby chicks. This was the 5 & 10 cent store ! It was right there on main street and was one of my favorite places. I don't remember a whole lot about the rest of the store but I do know this, if you went in the front door, the one on the left hand side because there were two, and went straight for a few steps, turn left, go down that first aisle. That is where all the good stuff was. That is where the toys and really cool stuff could be found. It is where I always went, and where Mom would come and get me when it was time to go.
I do have a faint memory of this store having a automatic donut making machine. It sat somewhere close to the checkout counter. Really cool and an amazing machine. The checkout counter was really just a large table with two cash registers. The baseball cards and other small items were right there where the owner could keep an eye on them. The gentleman that ran and owned that stores' name escapes me at the moment, but I do remember he watched you like a hawk. He was a friendly enough man, very pleasant but you knew you were being watched. It kept larceny off your mind.
The ceiling was very high and covered in pressed tin. Several fans hung from long poles and would wobble as they turned. I tried not to stand underneath them. I don't recall the lighting system in there but it always seemed a little dim.
Now this 5 & 10 was not a F.W. Woolworth. It was independently owned and operated. No great lunch counter in this store. It was a store I visited each time I went to town. It was a great place to shop for Christmas and any other special occasion. I wonder when it finally closed it doors. That certainly would have been a sad day. My first Little Golden Book may have come from there. I know I got a turtle there at least on one occasion. They were in a fish tank right on the checkout counter. The colored Easter chicks were in a cage by the front window, if memory serves. To this day I can not walk into a store with those old wooden floors without the memory of this store coming to mind. I unconsciously head for that first aisle. I haven't seen a store with those bins in a while. They displayed the wares nicely.The things I was looking at were not individually wrapped like they are today. The item was just there, sitting in that bin waiting for you to pick it up. Very convenient. No bar codes to scan, the price was clearly marked, hand written on a little white tag. Oh, and I seem to remember the really good toys, the expensive ones, being on a shelf, out of reach of little hands or hanging on the wall. You had to get someone to take it down for you. If it came down, you usually got it. Mom wouldn't bother the person just so you could look at it ! It was exciting if Mom said, I'll ask, if you wanted to hold it because the chances were pretty good you would get it.
That was all in the day when you normally only got toys for your birthday and Christmas. You didn't just get stuff for no reason. At least the stuff that cost more than a dollar or so. Those really good toys hung there on the walls or sat on those shelves calling to you. I remember standing there and admiring them and Mom saying, maybe for Christmas, let's go. And that would be in July ! Each time I went back I would check to see if that toy was still there. Some other kid might have a birthday and get it first. It was first come first served. There was only one of those toys displayed at a time, so you never knew. It was a form of child torture. It did teach you patience and about disappointment. It was also used as a weapon. Mom saying, you can just forget about that toy at the 5 & 10 if you are going to act like that ! Depending on how close to Christmas or your birthday it was, it was pretty effective.
All of that was fifty years ago or so, so my memory has faded some. I wonder how much I really remember and how much is entering the realm of myth and legend. No matter, it is my myth and my legend so I can tell it anyway I want too. That is the best part about memories anyway.
I do have a faint memory of this store having a automatic donut making machine. It sat somewhere close to the checkout counter. Really cool and an amazing machine. The checkout counter was really just a large table with two cash registers. The baseball cards and other small items were right there where the owner could keep an eye on them. The gentleman that ran and owned that stores' name escapes me at the moment, but I do remember he watched you like a hawk. He was a friendly enough man, very pleasant but you knew you were being watched. It kept larceny off your mind.
The ceiling was very high and covered in pressed tin. Several fans hung from long poles and would wobble as they turned. I tried not to stand underneath them. I don't recall the lighting system in there but it always seemed a little dim.
Now this 5 & 10 was not a F.W. Woolworth. It was independently owned and operated. No great lunch counter in this store. It was a store I visited each time I went to town. It was a great place to shop for Christmas and any other special occasion. I wonder when it finally closed it doors. That certainly would have been a sad day. My first Little Golden Book may have come from there. I know I got a turtle there at least on one occasion. They were in a fish tank right on the checkout counter. The colored Easter chicks were in a cage by the front window, if memory serves. To this day I can not walk into a store with those old wooden floors without the memory of this store coming to mind. I unconsciously head for that first aisle. I haven't seen a store with those bins in a while. They displayed the wares nicely.The things I was looking at were not individually wrapped like they are today. The item was just there, sitting in that bin waiting for you to pick it up. Very convenient. No bar codes to scan, the price was clearly marked, hand written on a little white tag. Oh, and I seem to remember the really good toys, the expensive ones, being on a shelf, out of reach of little hands or hanging on the wall. You had to get someone to take it down for you. If it came down, you usually got it. Mom wouldn't bother the person just so you could look at it ! It was exciting if Mom said, I'll ask, if you wanted to hold it because the chances were pretty good you would get it.
That was all in the day when you normally only got toys for your birthday and Christmas. You didn't just get stuff for no reason. At least the stuff that cost more than a dollar or so. Those really good toys hung there on the walls or sat on those shelves calling to you. I remember standing there and admiring them and Mom saying, maybe for Christmas, let's go. And that would be in July ! Each time I went back I would check to see if that toy was still there. Some other kid might have a birthday and get it first. It was first come first served. There was only one of those toys displayed at a time, so you never knew. It was a form of child torture. It did teach you patience and about disappointment. It was also used as a weapon. Mom saying, you can just forget about that toy at the 5 & 10 if you are going to act like that ! Depending on how close to Christmas or your birthday it was, it was pretty effective.
All of that was fifty years ago or so, so my memory has faded some. I wonder how much I really remember and how much is entering the realm of myth and legend. No matter, it is my myth and my legend so I can tell it anyway I want too. That is the best part about memories anyway.
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