# Can anybody tell me about dime stores? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 7, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532 "2008-03-07T23:37:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/41 "2008-03-09T00:07:00Z")
Somewhat surprisingly, there was a Newberry’s in Beverly Hills for decades, which I think closed around 1975 or 1980. It was a remnant of a slightly different era there. Beverly Hills always had the reputation of being a rich area, and deservedly so, but at the same time it was a small-town community. So along with the expensive boutiques there were stores catering to the mundane day-to-day needs of people who lived in the area. There was even a Clifton’s Cafeteria as well. I’ve still gotten this vibe when visiting North Side Chicago suburbs. It tends to be a prosperous, upper-middle-class area, but the communities are definitely not all about the glitz. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/42 "2008-03-09T00:07:31Z")
[QUOTE=This’ll Do] And Icees-- always half cola/half cherry, we called that a “suicide.” I don’t think I’ve had an Icee in thirty years. [/QUOTE] We called them either Icees or Slurpees. And my kids, at the baseball diamond in summer(about 10 years ago now), used to get a mix of all the sodas from the fountain–and they called it a suicide as well. It must have skipped a generation–I’ve never heard of that! > [@](#): > > Remember this toy?: A cardboard picture of a bald man, covered with plastic. Inside the plastic there were iron shavings and you used a little magnetic stylus to give the man hair and eyebrows and a moustache, etc. I can’t recall offhand, but a company still sells this guy. Yo-yos, clackers, that paddle ball thingy that no one could ever do, jacks, jumpropes, sidewalk chalk, “Chinese” jump-ropes,Old Maid playing cards,novelty candles, caps for cap guns…all available at the dime store. My mother likes to tell us that she was often sent to the store with a nickel to get a loaf of bread–in 1939. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/43 "2008-03-09T00:11:21Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] We called them either Icees or Slurpees. And my kids, at the baseball diamond in summer(about 10 years ago now), used to get a mix of all the sodas from the fountain–and they called it a suicide as well. It must have skipped a generation–I’ve never heard of that! [/quote] We had “suicides” too, circa 1967, at the West Hollywood Hamburger Habit. For ours they put a little of everything into it. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/44 "2008-03-09T00:17:50Z")
I don’t know the name of it, but there’s a place in Bradford, VT, that reminds me of an old Woolworth’s. It has a little bit of everything from clothing to housewares and toys packed into two floors. We vacation across the river in Piermont, NH. We always go to Chapman’s in Fairlee and often go to Bradford. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/45 "2008-03-09T01:17:37Z")
The ones we had when I was growing up (around the Dallas, TX. area), were M.E. Moses. Pretty much exactly what everyone here has already mentioned, but the thing that stuck out for me was that they carried tiaras! Now I was, and still am, a tomboy, but I just couldn’t believe that less than a mile from my house, you could buy the same thing the queen wore!! And you knew it was special because it was one of just a very few special things that was kept in the clear glass LOCKED case. I never got one and I missed that rhinestoned metal something terrible, but in hindsight I still think that one highlight was better than being able to gank any old plastic type off the wall of your local Dollar Tree. Perhaps I’ll go in search of one now on eBay… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/46 "2008-03-09T01:26:12Z")
I remember Woolworth’s and Kresge’s, and I’ve gotta say that I never would have thought I’d ever miss those stores, but I do. They had everything, and you could walk in there with a buck and come out with a whole shopping bag full. But the best thing was the lunch counter. They had wholesome food and great desserts (pies and banana splits to die for), and everything was dirt cheap. And real cherry Coke, nothing like what you get in cans today. And pets! You could get a bag of goldfish, or small turtles with roses painted on their shells. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/47 "2008-03-09T05:13:40Z")
[QUOTE=This’ll Do] Remember this toy?: A cardboard picture of a bald man, covered with plastic. Inside the plastic there were iron shavings and you used a little magnetic stylus to give the man hair and eyebrows and a moustache, etc. [/QUOTE] [Wooly Willy.](http://www.smethporttoy.com/woolywilly/index.html) Interestingly, according to that website, it looks like it was a dime store that broke the toy into the marketplace-- a GC Murphy in Indianapolis. I’m so proud to live here. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/48 "2008-03-09T07:23:39Z")
I remember spending many allowances at W.R. Thomas 5&10 when I was a kid. We would go to the county seat town on Friday evening and while Mom shopped for groceries and Dad loafed at the cigar store, us kids were turned loose at the dime store. We did have to behave once in there, though, or we would have to stay with Mom the next week. I bought a lot of candy at the counter, paint by numbers, Liddle Kiddles, play jewelry and the like in the basement (toy section), and birthday / Mother’s Day / Father’s Day gifts with the help of Miss Nancy upstairs over the years. One of my aunts worked for a long time at one of the Kresge’s in Fort Wayne. She eventually retired from K-Mart. When my grandparents would take me to see her at work, she would always treat me to a sundae or banana split at the lunch counter. Another aunt worked at a Harvey Mart in the next town over from us. Her kids always had the latest toys from there :: insert envious smiley:: In addition to those dime stores, there was also a Murphy Mart in the county seat and a G.L. Perry Variety Store in a town that I lived in as an adult. These were all in northern Indiana. I kind of wish that there was a good dime store where I live now. I miss them. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/49 "2008-03-09T11:36:11Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] We had “suicides” too, circa 1967, at the West Hollywood Hamburger Habit. For ours they put a little of everything into it. [/QUOTE] [nitpick]Are you sure you don’t mean the Hamburger Hamlet? The Hamburger _Habit_ started here in Santa Barbara and I’ve noticed one in Culver City[/nitpick]. It is, however, a poor imitation of Tommy’s. My local 5 & dime was the Sprouse Ritz. Here, the 5 & dime has been replaced by the ethnic Chinese or Mexican mini-store. The Chinese one is fantastic. They’ve got everything for dirt cheap and are just up the street. It’s amazing how much crap they pack into that storefront. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/50 "2008-03-09T12:14:47Z")
Our local store was called the D & C. I suppose it stood for dollars and cents? There was a Woolworth’s in the next town as well. Seems to me that drug stores (chains like Walgreen’s and CVS) are the closest thing to them that still exists today. If you take away the pharmacy and expand some of the departments a little bit, you’d pretty much have our D & C. I think the D & C closed in the 70s. I remember they had a big close-out sale and we bought all kinds of stuff. I think my mom bought enough letter-sized tablets to last her for several years. GT ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/51 "2008-03-09T15:27:34Z")
[QUOTE=gardentraveler] Seems to me that drug stores (chains like Walgreen’s and CVS) are the closest thing to them that still exists today. If you take away the pharmacy and expand some of the departments a little bit, you’d pretty much have our D & C. [/QUOTE] Most Five and Tens had some clothing, fabric, yarn, etc., too. I was asking my brother about the Five and Ten a couple of months ago because we used to buy Matchbox cars and trucks there when they still came is little cardboard boxes. The thing is, forty years ago it seems we had to save up close to a dollar to buy a Matchbox toy. Today at Wal-Mart they still sell for about the same price. ---
**Author:** ![This\_ll\_Do](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/this_ll_do/32/3023_2.png) [@This\_ll\_Do](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_ll_Do)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/52 "2008-03-09T17:07:04Z")
[QUOTE=Student Driver] [Wooly Willy.](http://www.smethporttoy.com/woolywilly/index.html) [/QUOTE] That’s the one! Thanks for the post-- made me smile to see one of those again. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/53 "2008-03-09T17:29:27Z")
This brings back memories. We had a Woolworths half a block from us that we called the “5 and 10”. You could get parakeets, sewing supplies, model car kits, penny candy, hardware, comic books, and all manners of useful things. It was more up-scale than K-Mart in that it was more of a place that people of all stripes would go for convenience, rather than a place to find bargains. Ours was old and had wooden floors and wood and glass display cases. There was a distinct smell to it that said enjoy this while you can, we are on our way out. My neighborhood also had the original Howard Johnsons, but it was long gone by the time I was born ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/54 "2008-03-09T17:35:59Z")
In the UK I cannot ever recall having a similar type store, the only ones we have at the moment are the £ stores altho’ certain shops are opening selling stuff at 69p, 79, and so on ---
**Author:** ![phil417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@phil417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phil417)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/55 "2008-03-09T22:46:18Z")
I remember buying my sister one of the original (I think) Barbie Dolls at a Woolworth’s 5-&-10 around 1959-1960. The doll and one dress (sold separately) cost all of $4.00. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/56 "2008-03-09T23:03:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Can anybody tell me about dime stores? They were bright, well-lit, friendly places to do some light shopping, & very kid-friendly. That pretty much sums it up. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/57 "2008-03-10T14:07:15Z")
[QUOTE=Caractacus Pott] Woolworth still exists in Germany and the UK. [/QUOTE] Australia, too, or at least they did when I went there a couple of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/58 "2008-03-10T14:56:57Z")
[QUOTE=Student Driver] We had classic dime stores here until fairly late in the retail game-- Woolworth’s and GC Murphy held on to the bitter end in Indiana… [/QUOTE] GC Murphy was a big player - my great uncle worked at their headquarters in McKeesport, PA and my great-grandma worked in one of their retail stores. They had a department store division too - Murphy’s Mart. These typically did well whereever they were. This chain might still be around had corporate raiders not taken over the thing (it was quite profitable) and rolled it into the Ames empire, which was a rotting mess. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/59 "2008-03-10T15:33:41Z")
We had Ben Franklin. Greeting cards, toys, plastic flowers (my grandmother loved plastic flowers), perfume, magazines, candy - it had almost everything. I remember every year when it was back to school time, we’d take our lists and go to Ben Franklin - pick out our notebooks (I remember when Trappers first became popular) and pens and pencils - and of COURSE our new lunch box. My brother and I would ride our bikes there a few times a week before we’d actually go shopping for our new lunch boxes to see if they had the kind we wanted. I hid the only Emergency 51 lunch box they had one year because it was the only one and I didn’t want anyone else to buy it before my mom took us there. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532/60 "2008-03-10T15:43:04Z")
We had Kresge’s (never called it the “5 and 10”, though), Woolworth (ditto), Woolco, and K-Mart. But the “5 and 10” to me was **Ben Franklin’s** , as **Missy2U** has noted. I’ve only ever seen two – both in New Jersey. The one downtown in my home town only closed a couple of years ago (there was a flea market there briefly afterwards. Now it’s a supermarket) It was the quintessential 5 and 10. It had four aisles with somewhat benchlike setup. About at waist height the products were set out on a 2-3 foot wide shelf divided up into sections by glass dividers. There were shelves set farther back, rising above this. It was very unlike shelving in modern megastores, because most of the goods would be on that big shelf (which had storage cabinets underneath). The leftmost aisle held stationary and household supplies. (We got our cartridges of washable blue ink for cartrisdge fountain pens there, although they also had bottles of ink for refullable fountain pens. “Peacock blue” was the prettiest.) The next aisle had candy, in progusion, and more housewares, and further down toys. The next aisle had seasonal, fabrics, and kids’ books. the last aisle held more fabrics and the like. There were some large appliances in the back. From time to time they tried to boost things by putting a book dump in the front. These were erratic and quirky I can still recall some of the titles – **Dune Messiah, Myra Breckenridge, Eaters of the Dead**. At one point they tried to sell **Playboy** at the front counter, but that didn’t last long. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-tell-me-about-dime-stores/440532.md?page=4)