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Jane D. O'Donoghue
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By Jane D. O'Donoghue
PRIME Guest Columnist
Recently I showed some old photos from the "Five and Ten" to my grandson Patrick. He asked, "What was that?" I was taken aback for a moment when I realized that at age 24, he probably had never seen one. They are dinosaurs today, and the younger generation doesn't know what they've missed.
Remember when you could go to one of these emporiums and buy many different small items? Things such as combs, ribbons by the yard, a small package of bobby pins, safety pins, one pair of shoelaces, shoe polish, and other such findings?
They were available without multiple pieces, bulky packaging and hard plastic wrappings. Socks, garters, pens, pencils, paper and other items were offered there too. Clerks stood behind each counter to assist in your selections.
My favorite aisle presented a delicious assortment of candies behind glass cases. A purchase of a small bag, or a pound was possible as the clerk weighed it out for you. These stores were wonders to my childhood eyes.
Sometimes a salesman might be hawking his wares of the newest, latest and best household item. With a microphone, his voice could be heard throughout the store. I was often intrigued to stand, watch and listen.
Once, my older sister Catherine and I, when we were age ten and nine, rode the bus to downtown Springfield to do our Christmas shopping. It was 1937 and we had enough cash to buy a gift for each person on our list, bus fare, and a soda at the lunch counter.
Our store of choice was "Kresge's 5 & 10" on Main Street. There was also a connecting "Dollar store". Our bus route started and ended at the corner of Main and Bridge Streets. Trolleys plied Main Street too, but the bus route looped from Hungry Hill to Bridge Street and back.
The store had wooden floors, adequate lighting, and low ceilings. There was a safe feeling as we stayed together and searched for our gifts. Rita, an older cousin who worked on the photo booth near the door, assured my mother that she would keep an eye on us. We planned on doing all our shopping in Kresge's.
There was a bustle of shoppers as they moved from one crowded store to another in search of the perfect gift. Christmas carols played. This was especially true in Kresge's as they had a piano where the pianist played seasonal songs, or took requests. She sold sheet music and knew what was popular. Customers also crowded around to listen and stay warm while waiting for their bus.
We took our time checking the goods, figuring our cash, deciding and rejecting potential purchases. There were three younger sisters and a brother to buy for. We considered balls, games, miniature cars, soft toys, crayons, coloring books, puzzles, maybe some jacks, a bag of marbles, or paper dolls.
For our mother, there could be a new lipstick or a pretty smelling soap. An apron would be nice but was beyond our budget. We figured ten cents for each gift as we wandered in the "Dollar" store for a while. This was mostly home goods and hardware items and we found the gift for our grandfather there.
When our shopping was done we enjoyed a soda at the lunch counter. Our cousin treated us to a photo shoot. We planned on giving the pictures to our grandmothers. This convenient corner allowed us to see our bus coming. Rita made sure we boarded the correct one. Once home, we hid our gifts until that evening when Mom gave us Christmas paper and we wrapped and labeled each.
On Christmas Eve my mother set out a glass of wine and some of her homemade fruitcake for Santa Claus. The window lights and Christmas tree shone all night, and we slept fitfully in anticipation of morning. Our simple gifts were given to the others as we also enjoyed what Santa left us. There was usually a new dress or skirt fashioned by our widowed mother sewing late nights to surprise us.
After church, friends and relatives visited and shared our treats. A box of the thinnest ribbon candy and hard candies with soft fillings were a seasonal tradition. Someone usually brought chocolates and my grandmother always gave us large oranges.
Years later I learned the dolls from "Santa" were often recycled from thrift shops, cleaned up, and dressed with new outfits made by our other grandmother.
We also learned to our chagrin, those small white ashtrays we bought for Gramp were made to place under stove legs to protect the linoleum.
What did we know? This is my favorite memory of Christmas shopping through the years.
Jane D. O'Donoghue is a Hungry Hill native and retired school librarian. Her writing has appeared in local and regional publications.
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