The impending closure of Bath Kmart makes me dream of stores gone by. Remember Grant’s? There used to be one on Liberty Street in Bath. Corning had Woolworth and J. J. Newberry. Bath and Addison had G.L.F. And don’t forget Loblaw’s!
Everybody has stores that bring back youth and childhood. I started working at a Western Auto in Rhode Island when I was 14, and stayed there for 10 years, then later added a few months in Virginia.
Many, many people have told me that their very first bike was a Western Flyer from Western Auto. Mine too!
In days gone by Western Auto was “your home town department store.” They had an associate store arrangement, where small business owners could keep their independent ownership, their existing specialty, and their own character, with Western Auto as an overlay. “My” store did its own buying for hardware, plumbing, paint and electrical. Through Western Auto we added firearms, sporting goods, appliances, furniture, housewares, toys, and, of course, automotives. Back in the mid-sixties, we were still stocking and selling Model T and Model A parts.
Stores loom huge in the experience of little kids… so big! so much stuff!… and the memories linger for a lifetime. They remember the roar and vibration of coffee grinding at the register in A&P, or buying a children’s encyclopedia, one volume a week, from Grand Union.
One shopping center in Bath’s West End is still called the Acme plaza locally, though uts Acme supermarket has been gone for a long, long time. Newer folks call it the Jamesway plaza, but that’s gone too.
G.L.F. eventually merged with Eastern States to form Agway. G.L.F. produced its own cereals, still fondly remembered.
And don’t forget the S&H Green Stamps – or Plaid Stamps at A&P! Licking the stamps, sticking them in books, and poring through the catalog was a passionate childhood pastime. Now that I think of it, we still have a couple of items around the house that we “bought” with Green Stamps.
Where, outside of memory, are the stores of yesteryear? Western Auto’s name was legally discontinued in 2006. A&P closed its last store four years back. Grand Union’s been swallowed by Tops. Loblaw’s withdrew back to Canada decades ago. W. T. Grant went broke in ’76, Woolworth became Foot Locker. Ames and Newberry died with the 20th century.
Acme is still around, just not around here, and the same is true for Ben Franklin. I guess that’s also the case for Red & White, whose faded signs could still be found around Keuka Lake not long ago. There used to be an I.G.A. grocery store in Mount Morris, but the closest now seems to be in Pennsylvania.
Business crunches on, of course. The corner shops gave way to A&P, Western Auto, and Grant. They gave way to the K-Marts, and those are giving way to the Walmarts. Something’s lost, and something’s gained, with each transition. But the end of Ames, for instance, 17 years ago, meant that many folks in the Adirondacks suddenly had to drive 50 miles to buy a spool of thread.
At any rate, it’s no use to be crotchety. But scout around in memory… or in your home, your shed, your garage… and see what “classic” names and trademarks you find. Have fun!