What Can You Buy for a Nickel?

When I was little, one of my favorite places was the Five and Ten Cent Store. People usually referred to it as the Dime Store, and everyone knew what you meant. It was a store that was filled with all sorts of things, many of which cost a nickel, a dime, or a quarter.

Now in today's world, I'm guessing that your mind immediately goes to the local Dollar Store or Dollar Tree--filled with an assortment of cheap junk that is worth a lot less than a dollar. (Although, that being said, I am a sucker for a dollar store. I find lots of treasures there on the few occasions each year that I wander in!)

But back to the Five and Ten Cent Store...

It was a wonderful store filled with amazing treasures that actually had some value. We would go there to shop for sewing notions, books, toys, soft goods such as pillowcases or tablecloths (those kinds of things cost more than a quarter, obviously), school supplies, knick-knacks, toiletries, and any number of other things that a person could need or want.

There was a Five and Ten Cent Store next to the Dale's Market where my mom did her grocery shopping. Sometimes we would go to the dime store after mom did her grocery shopping. While in there with mom, not too often, she would let us buy something that we wanted. Oh, the joy! :)

I remember one time when she was in the grocery store, she told us to go over to the dime store and get ourselves each a coloring book. Coloring books cost a nickel back then.

This was a rare treat, especially getting to buy something without mom's watchful eye, so we made our choices very carefully. We pored over the selection of coloring books. Some were cartoon character books (i.e. Porky Pig) and others were princess books. Some were farm animals. The assortment seemed endless, and it made the choosing that much tougher. We could only buy one each.

Finally after agonizing over what to choose, my sister chose a coloring book that had lots of pages. Probably 50 or so. It was a book that was about 8 x 12 or something. She got it because it had so many pages and would last a long time. The book I picked was a princess book. It had fewer pages (probably 20 pages) but the pages were bigger--maybe 11 x 15 or so. I picked it because I liked the pictures.

Funny how differently we thought. I focused on content, she focused on quantity.

We were so pleased with our purchases, and we sped over to the grocery store to show mom what we had bought and (believe it or not) give her change back. We were thrilled! This was a big deal! It was the first time we had done this by ourselves. I remember mom thought Kathy had made a good choice because of the number of pictures, while she shook her head in mild dismay and said that I should have gotten a coloring book that would "last longer."

But I liked princesses, so what's a girl to do?

Later on, when I was about ten I have memories of going to a store that was called Woolworth's. It was a similar store to the Dime Store, but carried a larger variety of things including fabric and patterns. We would sometimes go there to buy those things when mom was going to do a sewing project of some kind. Woolworth's was also a fun place because it had a lunch counter where you could sit on a stool and buy hot dogs, sandwiches, cokes, milkshakes and all sorts of things. I never did that with my family, but later as a teenager I would eat at the lunch counter sometimes when I was with my friends.

Eating lunch at the Woolworth's lunch counter was one way to be really COOL! :-)