joyce blint

I remember a Kresge's (forerunner of Kmart) and of course, Woolworth's. Woolworth's had a soda fountain with the best cherry cokes (w real cherry bits!).

bakermom

We had a Ben Franklin here where I live for many years. people were sad when it was phased out.
in the rural community where I grew up there was a grocery/dry goods store. You could buy just about anything. What you couldn't find there you could get at the hardware store. Those and the feed store were the only businesses around.

LynnVT

So many of us have the same memories, all over the country! So sad to see Kresge's, Woolworth's, Newberry's and other "5 and dimes" all gone. There is still a Ben Franklin's in Middlebury VT, but the one in Manchester closed down a few years back. We went to a quilt shop in Middlebury a couple months ago for Janome service, and I discovered the BF there. Got some cool batik fabric that I used for some the block's in PinkLotus' block swap. Had to wash and rinse it about a dozen times to get it to stop bleeding, but it was beautiful and very cheap. So much has changed. Think our kids will be nostalgic about WalMart and dollar stores some day? LOL

purplefiend

I remember Woolworths and Newberry's 5 & 10 stores. I mostly lived in s.California as a child.

barny

You talked about evening in paris perfume, do you remember Tangee Lipstick? Ha. When I was a little girl, my Aunt made halters from mens cowboy red hankies. We would have a nickel and drive the grocer nuts for a penny's worth of candy from 6 different containers.

carolynjo

I am fortunate to have a large, new Ben Franklin store about 45 minutes away. I love it! I can find almost anything in it, including nice fabric.

labtechkty

We didn't have a Ben Franklin, though we did have a Rose's 5 & Dime ...my mom use to go all the time and she would buy fabric and all sorts of things...of course no longer there..we also a had a Woolworth's..

Helen S

New London, CT had a S S Kresge 5 and ten cent store that was to die for as a kid! It had so many great things and I sure miss places like that! One wall had a snack bar with red vinyl-covered stools. A cup of coffee was 15 cents, real milk shakes were made on that old light green machine, sometimes two at a time and we used to love to watch even if we weren't getting one ourselves.

The next counter over was full of all sorts of goodies, all priced under a dollar; nail clippers, polish, ribbons, hair clips, remember bobby pins? It was the place to go for Christmas gifts for siblings.

Other aisles had ladies underwear, socks, stockings, garter belts!
Bedding items near the back in one corner, real doilies, fabrics and notions, household in the front corner forward of the bedding...gee, I'm surprised I remember all that, since I can't remember my own name some days! lol

It's sad to see all these places displaced by the Walmarts, etc.
Thanks for the memories!

Nell Dwyer

Could the Ben Franklins you are talking about be up in Duluth, Minnesota-sounds like the same store, by the bank when I was growing up-just asking-oh the memories we have of the favorite 5 and 10 cents stores-there was a Gambles, and JC Penny's in the same block?

sandypants

In Owatonna,Mn we too had a Ben Franklin and Woolworths. We also had a J C Penny's,Spurgens,S & L dept store, that all had Fabric and all sort of craft items. Sure wish we had them all back now. I too remember the measuring
device that you push down to cut the fabric, Penny's had one. What a great time that was.