The Five and Dime

There it stood in all its glory. Just inside those doors was a plethora of candy, not at all unlike the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. There were all colors and all sizes. It was just like a technicolored dream. Just inside those doors was a cure for the common ailment known as the sweet tooth. Okay forgive me I am not sure that it’s really an ailment, but hey it could be.  The store was Mott's and it was our local 5 & Dime. The store had a lot to offer. There were aisles of housewares, toys, some clothes, fabrics for sewing and to the best of my recollection there was an aisle for model airplanes and cars. So I am not stretching the truth when I say they had a little of everything. Like a smaller version of a department store.  They worked hard to make all of the items relevant for everyday life.  If you found yourself in need of something and did not want to have to venture to the nearest department store they could almost always suffice the need. Oh, but I digress, what usually brought me or my siblings into the store was what was up front in those candy bins.

   I can still remember dad driving us up there on a Saturday morning. It was within walking distance. It was about a three minute drive. He would pull into a parking spot, put the car in park, and then he would reach into his wallet and give each of us one or two of his hard earned dollars. I didn’t think much about it then but looking back it was pretty cool that he did that for us. He would sit and wait in the car while we shopped for candy. He never complained or honked his horn, he just waited patiently for us to finish. I remember walking into the store, the familiar smell of the store; Darlene the manager would greet us as we walked in.  Then the shopping began. It was almost like a plane coming in for a landing. You had to circle the bins 3 to 4 times just to see what all they had.  You wanted to spend your money wisely.  I usually avoided the higher priced chocolate bars and stuck to the cheaper hard candies.

       For a nickel or a dime apiece you could load up on some candy.  They had all kinds of suckers and taffy, bubble gums and even baseball cards with the one hard piece of gum in it.  There would always be the newest item that you had to get at least one of, to try it out. I found some I really liked that way.   I remember as I got older I would drop by there to purchase what was my favorite candy of all time the “Lifesaver Swirl” lollipop. Unfortunately they discontinued that one.  Then there was the “Astro Pop”, the “Jolly Rancher Stick” “Charms Sweet and Sour Pops”, “Tootsie Pops” and many others that have fallen by the wayside over the years.  We definitely had a lot broader selection back then.  But things change.

      As progress goes so did the Mott's. I am not sure what happened to the E.B. Mott Company I was unable to find any real info on the web about them.  I am sure that progress and something bigger and better ran them out of business. I have seen a lot of change in my lifetime and sometimes change is good. I know looking back stores like Dollar General and the like, our Variety stores of today got their beginnings from stores like Mott’s.  I will say that I miss those days at Mott’s, cruising the aisles at 7/11 for a candy fix just ain’t the same.   What is your favorite memory of the ol’ Mott’s 5-10-25 Cent Store

Feel free to comment.

Kenney Pope

8/20/15