39 Years Ago-- Combatting Boredom at Allen's 5 & 10

You don't hear much nowadays about "Dime Stores" or "Five & Ten Cent Stores", as we used to call them. We still have variety stores, dollar stores, and convenient marts, all of which incorporate certain aspects of their predecessors.



But for those of us who remember the Ben Franklin's, Woolworth's, Kresge's, and an endless variety of small-town versions of the dime store, nothing today is really comparable. The Ben Franklin store below is in Columbus, NC, near a major route to the Outer Banks.


Reputedly the first of all the Ben Franklin stores, it survives to this day. And along with it, survive such items as this handy canvas folding shopping basket.


Stores today have gone to all metal carts or plastic shopping baskets.

To me, those canvas baskets were reminiscent of the store everyone in my community knew about when I was a boy: Allen's 5&10 in Skyland Shopping Center. My mother took us there often, and it was one store we never complained about visiting. It had the hardwood floors, the jam-packed display cases, and all the sights and smells you associate with the dime stores of days gone by.

I little suspected when I was a boy that my first paying job would be at Allen's. It was just a part-time summer job, and paid just $1.60 an hour. I think minimum wage for full-time workers was only $1.80 then. But it was convenient, no night-time hours, and wouldn't tie me down much during a busy summer.

This brown paper bag may be my only tangible keepsake from the store. The only reason it was saved was because of what was written on the back.

And "What was that?" you may ask.

It was a Top Ten list that pre-dates David Letterman by a couple of decades. You see, I was hired as a stock boy, but none of the old ladies who worked there felt comfortable running the cash register. So when it was discovered that I was willing to do stock plus run the register, the job fell to me.

Unlike poor cashiers at groceries and Wal-mart, I never had long lines of impatient customers. The pace was leisurely. Sometimes to the point of boredom. Which led to my Top Ten (okay, Top Twelve--Letterman should try it) list: How to Fight Boredom While Watching the Cash Register. In retrospect, I think it's funny I said Watching the Cash Register instead of Operating the Cash Register. But there was a lot of just watching involved.

And now, THE LIST:

1. Count the number of tiles on the floor.


2. Count the number of tiles on the ceiling.


3. Try to work the Curtis Key Machine.


4. Count the number of times the cash register rings all day (using two hands or less.


5. Time the Slurpee machine between cutoffs.


6. Count the number of different sounds you can hear at any one time.


7. Time the traffic light at the Clairmont-Buford intersection.


8. Think of all the money you're making (HA!)


9. See how long you can hold your breath without passing out.


10. See how long you can go without blinking your eyes.


11. Wait for the stock truck to come in.


12. Make obscene phone calls to Allen Brothers Incorporated of Acworth.

Don't worry. I never made any obscene phone calls to Allen Brothers. I don't really remember doing many of those things. But I did unload the stock truck. I did climb on top of the building to pour Clorox in the air conditioning system. I did talk to the old ladies a lot. I did run the register. I did earn my $1.60 an hour--I think. Mrs. Ash, the manager, was delighted for me to bring in my portable radio. We all listened to Atlanta's first talk radio station WRNG--Ring Radio. That was my first exposure to Neil Bortz. He wasn't a conservative then, and hadn't written a book about the Fair Tax. But he was just as obnoxious as he is now. They had some other hosts who I really enjoyed. But I don't remember their names.

If you have children and happen to come across a REAL dime store in one of America's small towns, drop in to show your kids and yourself a real piece of Americana. I don't think it will be too boring, no matter what I used to think!