Featured Woolworths Pieces

Did you know, Kresge's was what we now know as K-Mart?

 

We, too, had a Kresge in the nearest "city", as well as a McCrory's. Neither attracted us as kids the way Woolworth's did!

 

Had my first banana split at Woolworth's. 39cents and worth every penny. They had a string of balloons above the counter, and you'd select a balloon and hope that when it was popped its insert said that the banana split was free!

 

Woolworth's was at the shopping center. We didn't go there very often. Didn't start shopping there until high school, when we started driving and could get to the shopping center on our own.

Started eating there when I took a job at one of the major stores. That's where I learned the trick of putting mayo on grilled cheese, from the Woolworth's counter.

Did any of you have a Grants' store. That was a lot like Woolworth's. We shopped there a lot as it was closer than the shopping center.

 

The only semblance of a "department store" in Naples, Florida (or on all of Collier County for that matter) from the 1920s through the 1950s was Grants. Well, that and SunShine Hardware, which sold more "general store" type stuff. Your garden variety machetes, shotgun shells, kerosene for/and lamps and stoves (no natural or bottled gas), dried rations, gutting knives, snake bit kits and alligator "loops"......................

The only clothing stores in town were only open from Thanksgiving until Easter (the season). And the Quonset hut that doubled as the movie theatre was only open on alternate weekends and the county council had to pre-approve the movies before they could be shown to the public..........

 

I bought this Marcello Fantoni shelf figure back in the early 1960's. Woolworth's had it on a sales table marked down to ninety-nine cents from an original cost of $4.00. I was probably about fifteen at the time. I sold the piece a few year later for about $10.00. Recently a pair (a man and a women) from the same series went up for auction with a starting bid of $1,000. The final sale price was $3,500. I wish I had a time machine.

 

Yes, our town had a Grant's also.
I think that was a step above Woolworth's.....if I remember correctly.

 

The mention of bath salts reminded me of this little guy.

I think it was a powder jar.

 

I'm not sure if we had a local Grant's or not, but the great part of traveling with my father on business trips is that we got to see so many malls that his stores were in. I would spend hours in the mall window shopping and browsing in stores to keep myself busy while he conducted business. It was not a chore by any means to do this. But having my brothers tag along with me, as they hated shopping, was less than desirable.

Now and then I find some Christmas items that have a Woolworth's sticker or stamp on the box at the local sales here.

 

When the local Woolworth had their "Final Sale" before closing here in Chicago (15 years ago?), I purchased EVERY bit of better grade Christmas garland and EVERY card of red velvet bows (three sizes), and EVERY spool of gold fringe they had in stock ............in two stores................had to rent a truck to get it home.................but worth it for the prices I paid..............and I still have enough of the stuff to decorate Windsor if requested. I must see if the gold fringe (not the highest quality) is worth selling - I never will get around to tarting up all the portieres before I die.............

 

Wish I had stocked up on some of their Hollywood cold cream.

 

We had Kresge's, Woolworth's & Ben Franklin, maybe Grants, but I'm not sure. In our town the Kresge's that was downtown was newer than the Woolworth's, so it seemed better. I remember buying strawberry floats at Woolworth's lunch counter, but I don't remember eating there as much as I remember eating at Kresge's. They had the best hot beef/turkey sandwich plate lunches. I also remember buying gifts for my Mom at Kresge's. The Woolworth's had a bakery department in the front of the store, and Mom would buy cinnamon pull-a-parts, basically monkey bread made in a muffin pan, and glazed.

And yes, Kresge's owned K-Mart and eventually the Kresge's either closed or converted to K-Mart's.