Did you ever shop at a '5 & Dime'?

H

helenbacque

Senior Member
Location
Central Florida
Today's equivalent would be a dollar store. There was one in my town that was locally owned - name forgotten - but I think Woolworth's and Ben Franklin were also called that. Was that name a local phrase or was it a universal phrase?
 

helenbacque said:
Today's equivalent would be a dollar store. There was one in my town that was locally owned - name forgotten - but I think Woolworth's and Ben Franklin were also called that. Was that name a local phrase or was it a universal phrase?
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Yes, Woolworth's and Ben Franklin were both discount store chains.
I loved all of those places. Miss them.
 

Yes, growing up we went to Woolworth's. Some called it the 5 and 10, some the 5 and dime. They had a wonderful assortment of items. As a little kid they had so many small toys. My Mom would always let me pick out something. My favorite was a kaleidoscope, coloring books and crayons. Nothing like a new box of crayons. As a teen the cheap perfume,lipstick and nail polish was a steal. Ice cream soda's with friends after school was another treat. So many memories.
 
Yes often. Kresges & Woolworths. (When I was a kid. They had neat cast metal cars and trucks.

I'd spend about a quarter and come home with enough stuff to keep me happy
until my next trip there.)
 
RadishRose said:
Woolworth's - "High Heels" cheap cologne. "Tangee" lipstick and make up. The 50 cent photobooth.
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I forgot about the photo booth RadishRose. Sometimes 3 or 4 of us would squeeze in for a photo. Wow! You got High Heels! My Mom would only let me have apple blossom toilet water and the lightest of pink lipsticks. That went on almost through the first year of high school until she finally gave in. My persistence paid off. I remember coming home with white lipstick. She almost passed out.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I forgot about the photo booth RadishRose. Sometimes 3 or 4 of us would squeeze in for a photo. Wow! You got High Heels! My Mom would only let me have apple blossom toilet water and the lightest of pink lipsticks. That went on almost through the first year of high school until she finally gave in. My persistence paid off. I remember coming home with white lipstick. She almost passed out.
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Do you remember the lipsticks that had two different colors in one stick- one light frosted, one darker? lol
 
dollie said:
a lot of seniors use to hang out in the 5 and 10 then eat lunch at the soda fountain---i use to work at a woolworths
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I used to do that when I was a teenager with my school friends. It was at Woolworths but we called it the 5 & 10. Lot's of fun. Record albums for like a dollar. My grandmother used to buy fabric for making curtains. The notions counter was a treasure trove for us kids.
 
Oh, yes, Tangee lipstick. If I remember correctly, it came in fluorescent red, fluorescent pink, fluorescent orange and just plain old white. 19 cents if you wanted the cheap one that you pushed up with a button or 29 cents if you wanted the fancy one that you twisted up.

Then there was "Evening in Paris" perfume that came in a pretty blue bottle and smelled like "Evening in Whorehouse".

When I was about 12, I was finally allowed to go downtown with my friends on a Saturday. I always had $2 to spend. 25 cents each way on the bus, 40 cents for a student admission to the theatre (and what a bargain! Two features, a serial, cartoons, newsreel, coming attractions and you could spend all day if you wanted), about 50 cents for a BLT and a coke at the dimestore counter, 10 cents to ride the elevator to the top of the big monument in the center of downtown (oh, at least as tall as Mt. Everest and a Saturday tradition) and then around 50 cents to spend at the dimestore. What was it going to be? Unapproved lipstick? Gaudy jewelry? Candy? Perfume? I was in the Garden of Eden....
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I forgot about the photo booth RadishRose. Sometimes 3 or 4 of us would squeeze in for a photo. Wow! You got High Heels! My Mom would only let me have apple blossom toilet water and the lightest of pink lipsticks. That went on almost through the first year of high school until she finally gave in. My persistence paid off. I remember coming home with white lipstick. She almost passed out.
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Oh Ruth I wasn't allowed High Heels either. My friends older sister had it! LOL


And- I forgot we had Grants.
 
jujube I remember all the things you mentioned. Instead of going to the theater we also could go to a nearby roller skating arena.The BLT's that we got from Woolworth's also had chicken salad on them with the bacon. I never had them made that way anyplace else. The photo shows the exact Woolworth's ,left side of photo, that I went to in my hometown of Hackensack NJ. Probably taken in the early 50's. I live about 50 miles from Hackensack now and have driven by it on occasion. Everything has changed. I wish I hadn't done that. Rather live with my memories.woolworth (600x380).jpg
 
...and you dressed up to go downtown. That was serious business; no slopping around in torn jeans and hoodies.

I loved going to one of the big department stores (12 floors) and riding in the elevators. They had full glass doors and you could see the floors flashing by. Some of the stores had elevator operators, others were automated. They'd announce the floors: "Third floor.....ladies' better dresses (they never mentioned ladies' worse dresses, though), notions. Fourth floor....men's wear, shoes. Fifth floor....bedding and linens." And then there was the "bargain basement"....what treasures were down there! One of the stores had a "sub-basement" even.....I was always creeped out by the sub-basement. It was always damp and smelled funny.
 
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That's right Jujube, you dressed up for town. My mother wore hat and gloves, too. We didn't have a 12 story shop, but enough for need of an elevator, and I do remember the operator calling out the goods on each floor.
 

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