I Miss The Dime Store - A Fond Look Back and the Five and Dime's of My Youth
A Fond Look Back at the Five & Dime Stores of My Youth
I miss the “dime store”. The Five and Dime, 5&10, or whatever you wanted to call it - whether you went to Ben Franklin, Woolworths, G.C Murphy’s, S.S. Kresge’s, J.J. Newberry’s, or another of the hundreds of other dime stores across the country they are simply missed! I guess the closest thing that we have to them today would be Dollar General and Dollar Tree? But to me they just aren’t the
same and they sure don’t smell the same!
The early part of my years growing up was spent in a small town on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio were I have fond memories of going to a Red & White store to get candy with my friend Levon. While I’m not quite old enough to have gotten the classic “penny candies” at the store, candy cigarettes, bubble gum cigars, Zots, and Big League Chew certainly fit the bill for my eager sweet tooth growing up in West Jefferson, Ohio!
On weekends, school breaks, and holidays I would visit my grandparent’s two hours southeast in Meigs County, Ohio where the local Ben Franklin and G.C. Murphy the county over were the stores to visit. I can STILL smell the inside the Ben Franklin store in Middleport, Ohio, which I absolutely loved going to with my Gram. She would look at sewing patterns and buy me mucilage glue, coloring books, construction paper, and crayons to take back to her house for art projects while I would stay with her. A few years ago while on a road trip to The Disney Hometown Museum I drove by a billboard for a town in Missouri that still had a Ben Franklin store. I detoured to Macon off of US 63,
went in and it was like going in a time warp! There it was – the SMELL! It instantly took me back years ago walking those narrow filled aisles at the Ben Franklin in Middleport!
Over the years that same grandmother would tell me stories of her growing up the next county over in Gallipolis, Ohio and how in the late 1930s her Dad was building his family a new home along side the Ohio River. During this time they lived in an apartment building in town that was on top of G.C. Murphy’s. While living on top of the store, my Grandmother as a young teenager would work downstairs at the candy counter until the family moved to their new house. Amazingly that downtown Gallipolis store building still exists, and for years now it has been an antique store inside. Thankfully, the building owner has kept up the large red letters that say “G.C. MURPHY CO.” which you can clearly see while standing in the middle of City Park sticking out like a beacon to the past.
On a related note to G.C. Murphy’ - if you want to read and learn more about this great retailer that started in McKeesport, PA and spread throughout small town Appalachia and more check out the book ‘For the Love of Murphy’s’ by author Jason Togyer in 2008. It goes in depth about the company’s origins, expansion, and eventual decline
and end – plus it’s filled with wonderful stories and 20th century shopping photos that will pull at your nostalgic heartstrings!
Meanwhile, back home in the Columbus area I was being exposed to Woolworth's whenever we would visit the mall. I know millions grew up with that name as a stand alone store in their town, but by the time I came around it was a cool place to check out small pets and low-end budget toys at the mall. Eventually it spread blocks away to a new “Woolco” store – which was Woolworth’s attempt to enlarge it’s shopping footprint and battle against larger rivals K-Mart and Wal-Mart.
One major thing that stands out in my mind when think of Woolworth’s and Woolco is CHRISTMAS – holiday themed colors, cheap paper and foil decorations, light up plastic blow molds, wrapping papers, and of course toys! One Christmas stands out in particular at Woolco, and I have no idea what year it would be, but it seems like the store was decorated in blue and silver for the Holidays. I’ve come to adore those two colors together and about every other year I decorate my home and tree in all blue and silver and I think it’s pretty much because of this memory alone.
I’ll probably save the Christmas memories and their connection to dime stores for another blog post down the road, as that topic in itself can get me going down a rabbit hole. But it’s also a good place to end this entry. I would argue that most of us have core memories that are related to holidays, and for me in particular past Easter, Halloween, and Christmases are intertwined with the five and dime stores regarding supplies, costumes, and decorations. Will kids today think back in fifty plus years and think of Wal-Mart, Target, or Dollar General? Or is it Mom pushing a button on the Amazon app on her phone to order a Halloween costume or Christmas decorations? Maybe I was too “consumed by consumerism” as a kid, but those memories bring me to a happy place and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Man, I miss the dime store!
The old G.C. Murphy Co. building in downtown, Gallipolis, Ohio. My maternal grandmother lived in an apartment upstairs as a teen while she worked there.
The Ben Franklin store in Macon, MO
A look inside Macon's Ben Franklin... yep, it smelled like the one I remember going to in Ohio!
A beautiful wooden display case like I remember at old five and dimes. This one at the Macon Ben Franklin
Macon, Missouri - A very charming downtown!
If you want to learn more about the history of G.C. Murphy, check out Jason Togyer's For The Love of Murphy's book!
