It was on this date in 1879 that F.W. Woolworth opened his first 5 and 10 cent store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He sold no items for more than a dime.
Unfortunately, he went broke a short time later.  He didn't give up though.  He opened another store in a better location and went on to become one of America's richest men. That first store opening was 139 years ago.  I remember coming to Quincy in 1978 and Woolworth's was preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary.  The store was located next to the Western Catholic Building which happened to be the building I worked in at KHQA, WTAD and WQCY. It made it convenient to slip down to Woolworth's for lunch or a mid-afternoon milk shake.

They had the fountain area in the store which was popular with a lot of people in the downtown area. It was a sad day when they announced they were closing that store. To my knowledge, there are no more Woolworth stores in America. Unfortunately, another sign of the times.

It would have been nice to take my daughter and now grand kids to a soda fountain. Something they have never experienced and probably never will. So sad!

 

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