Before I knew what a WalMart was, we had these. I was pretty young, but remember always going there for a toy if I had a decent report card.

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deerheadlights_@reddit

We lived down the street from one in Houston. The only time I ever had candy was when my best friend and I walked down there with our small change.

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Yes! Walmart! I worked there as a teenager and through College. They really took care of their employees with health insurance, full day off with pay for your birthday, time and a half overtime pay on Sundays. Very cool people worked there from all walks of life.

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theHollowTarnished@reddit (OP)

Useful information for the people that never heard of Wal Mart. Im sure they appreciate that. Not hard to guess where you're employed. Especially if you took this offensively. If not, apologies, it really seems like you feel the need to stick up for Wally world as if I was saying something insulting or made up.

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Apprehensive-Line279@reddit

Kmart was what I was referring to.🙂

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Apprehensive-Line279@reddit

No offense at all! Just took a walk down memory lane there for a minute.

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NotARobotDefACyborg@reddit

I don’t think we had those in New England, but we had Toy City and Ben Franklin (imho, the best craft and hobby store there ever was).

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theHollowTarnished@reddit (OP)

In Texas our toy store was Children's Palace and of course toys are us. Parents never took us. Children's palace was in the shape of a castle. How do you not take your kids there once. Lol. No hard feelings. Great parents

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Legitimate_Zone1449@reddit

Anyone in Ohio remember Buckeye Mart?

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WesternPancake@reddit

And Ben Franklins

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Majic1959@reddit

Five & Dime stores.

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radiowave911@reddit

We had a McCrory's 5 and 10.

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Coup-de-Glass@reddit

Anyone else have a Pamida?

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yeswab@reddit

Not sure but if you hum a few bars, I’ll try to pick it up on the harmonium…

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hells_cowbells@reddit

My grandmother worked for McCrory's for a couple of decades. I spent a lot of time there, and got a lot of toys from there.

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tremendousbrunette@reddit

When I went to college in mid 2000’s (I was an old college student) they had a Ben Franklin’s and I went in there every week! They shut down about a decade ago and I was pretty bummed when I found out!

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Objective_Watch3097@reddit

Sam Walton owned a Ben Franklin's variety store before he started Walmart.

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Remarkable-Front-551@reddit

Our senior class in high had our graduation registry at the Ben Franklins in Merkel, Tx. I didn’t know it was a chain store.

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Boring_Blood4603@reddit

There is a Ben Franklin's in Fayetteville, WV or there was three years ago.

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4Q69freak@reddit

There is still one in Macon, Mo.

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imscruffythejanitor@reddit

Came here to say Ben Franklins too

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Weird-Girl-675@reddit

I loved Ben’s! Got my first CD stereo there.

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Ok-Dragonfruit-715@reddit

And Woolco.

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Robinhood6996@reddit

TG&Y 5¢ and Dime store before there was 99 cent stores now I guess there is $5 and below - probably in a few more months there’s going to the $10 and below stores lol - but yah I remember going to TG&Y in my hometown awesome memories

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Money-Ad7257@reddit

Oh yeah, Five Below started a "Ten Below" shelf a couple years ago, and Dollar Tree followed suit shortly after, which sucked because DT sold excellent type C phone cords for a dollar until then, made in Vietnam just like the OEMs. Now they shove them in the upmarket category.

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Robinhood6996@reddit

Wow Bummer - inflation is definitely speeding way too fast now

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Hairy_Yam_3360@reddit

Pamida and shop-ok

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dras333@reddit

Ben Franklins, Yellow Front, Biggs. I’m from Colorado

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the_drum_doctor@reddit

We had a place in Tacoma called The Giant T. They had a little ice cream counter up front that sold black licorice ice cream.

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ChiliSama@reddit

“Your Best Buy is at TG&Y”

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AcrobaticTrouble3563@reddit

Yessss, I remember thise as well. It's crazy how many things have come and gone in our lifetime.

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MLUTEHEA@reddit

We had Gold Circle before Walmart

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OolongGeer@reddit

That was before Sears shut everyone before THEM down!

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Lumpy_Ad_1581@reddit

Bradley's. Two Guys.

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Dry-Luck-8336@reddit

I only remember KMart and Woolworth. There probably wasn't a TG&Y where I lived (central valley California). There might have been one in a larger city. I just asked my 80 year mom, she said she heard of it, but we didn't have one.

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Medical-Hurry-4093@reddit

There was one in Sonoma County(Rohnert Park) for years, but I never heard of any others in the Bay Area.

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Unique-Fan-3042@reddit

Pretty sure one in Santa Rosa? or maybe Sebastopol or Calistoga. Places I lived as a kid and I don’t remember which store was where. I liked K-mart because of distinctive smelling popcorn, sub sandwiches and slurpees.

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Medical-Hurry-4093@reddit

I lived in San Carlos, so 'non-supermarket' shopping trips meant Redwood City(which had K-Mart and Ben Franklin), or up to Hillsdale for the 'good stuff'.

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BluePosey@reddit

Kmart and Woolworths for this San Francisco girl. Never heard of nor seen a TG&Y

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LondonIsMyHeart@reddit

San Jose area had them.

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Unique-Fan-3042@reddit

Sonoma County also

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elspotto@reddit

Yes we did.

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PeterMahogany@reddit

I just remember the Gemco in Mountain View very vividly.

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LondonIsMyHeart@reddit

Oh, I loved that store!

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bene_gesserit_mitch@reddit

I think TG&Y was Midwest. We also had Shopper’s Faire and Zayer.

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Unique-Fan-3042@reddit

Had em in CA. Also Woolworths, Five and Dime, Thrifty’s, K-Mart, Sprouse-Reitz, and of course TG & Y

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hells_cowbells@reddit

According to Wikipedia, it was founded in Oklahoma City. It also had over 900 stores in 29 states. I never realized they were that big.

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Illustrious-Tap8069@reddit

I remember Zayres

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Boring_Blood4603@reddit

Gold Circle is one I remember that went out of business.

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violetleia@reddit

I grew up in Los Angeles. We had them.

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TheMightyPushmataha@reddit

There was plenty of them in the Deep South.

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Texas_Mike_CowboyFan@reddit

We had one in Abilene, TX in the 70s.

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ahutapoo@reddit

Could have been Coronet, Sprouse-Reitz

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Dry-Luck-8336@reddit

Now I do remember Cornet, it was in the local mall next to Thrifty. And when I was a bit older, they opened up a Sprouse-Reitz. I spent most of the time trying to figure out how to pronounce the name. 😄

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Bama275@reddit

They had a TG&Y in Wetumpka, AL until the late 1980’s. When I was 9-10 I bought an entire sea monkey set there. It had the sea monkeys and a small aquarium with a built-in magnifying glass. Never have brine shrimp been more disappointing.

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Brilliant_Test_3045@reddit

I couldn’t WAIT to get my Sea Monkeys, and yes, the brine shrimp were very disappointing.

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ahutapoo@reddit

We said "ritz"

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RandyRhoadsLives@reddit

OMG..Sprouse Ritz! I remember in the far back corner, they had tropical fish. Such a funky little store. In the 70’s, my Mom would take me there. Back then, you couldn’t buy deodorant or tampons at a grocery store. SP had a quirky little toy section…cheap model airplanes and puzzles. Damn. Good times.

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Taira_Mai@reddit

Grew up in a town that had Sprouse-Reitz, TG&Y and Yellow Front (kind of a dollar store). All are gone now. I loved Sprouse-Reitz because they had popcorn - I'd get a bag everytime I was dragged for clothes shopping by Mom.

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implicate@reddit

My weird grandma would call it "Sprouse Ritz Cracker" and thought she was the pinnacle of comedy.

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ahutapoo@reddit

At least she was laughing, right?

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implicate@reddit

Eh, she was also pretty abusive.

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ahutapoo@reddit

Who's laughin' now, GTFOH granny

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leeloocal@reddit

Sprouse-Reitz was the BEST.

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ahutapoo@reddit

JJ Newbury and I spelled Cornet wrong '

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ahutapoo@reddit

No way! Did you ever got to this? Five & Dime Antique Mall in Bakersfield

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Desperate_Gold6670@reddit

Yeap, Sprouse-Reitz and we had a Jolly Five and Dime.

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gridironsmom@reddit

TG&Y was in the Bay area.

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mayura376@reddit

Woolworth was awesome 😎

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Dry-Luck-8336@reddit

One that was in a nearby city still had a small lunch counter.

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Blazenkks@reddit

We had a TG&Y in Sac, in the Central Valley. Right next door to a Lucky’s, and a few doors down from a Thrifties. All in the same strip mall.

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Dry-Luck-8336@reddit

I was in high school before I encountered a Walmart and we had moved out of state. There probably was a TG&Y somewhere in one of the neighboring small cities around us, but we just never shopped at one. Mom preferred KMart, Woolworth, Sears, JCPenney.

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I_Dont_Answer@reddit

Bakersfield had one on Airport drive near Beardsley Elementary.

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Illustrious-Maybe924@reddit

In Ohio we had a store called Gold Circle which I remember as being just like Target!

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Confident-Daikon-451@reddit

Yeah! I used to get those iron-filing guy-with-a-beard "toys" and the water-filled things where you would push the buttons and try to get the rings in the targets. If you know TG&Y I assume you know what those things are.

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Ok-Chain8552@reddit

We had Bradlee's. I hated it because we shopped there while everyone else shopped at places like the Gap

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Impure_guava@reddit

I had never heard of Bradlees. I bought an old 80’s Transformer with a Bradlees sticker on the box and had to look it up.

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Ok-Chain8552@reddit

Ha well ! It was like a run down Wal mart . Dark lighting very poor quality . It was in New Jersey .. not sure if other places ! Clearly I have feelings lol

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Money-Ad7257@reddit

I think it was Bradlee's where I got my first real baseball glove, a Ryne Sandberg model. Or maybe it was Lechmere, I dunno. Anyway, it was a thrill when some twenty years later I was at a AAA game and here's Sandberg right in front of me coaching third base! I did a double take and was reminded of the happy memories with that glove.

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Intelligent-Art-5000@reddit

Woolworth's, Benny's, and the Ocean State Job Lot. Only one remains.

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Money-Ad7257@reddit

Job Lots! There's still a few things I have that my folks got there in the 80s, including a wicker bathroom shelf.

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Lanky-Antelope7006@reddit

My great aunt was always getting names wrong. She would say "I'm going to the T and G Y. Anyone need anything?"

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Money-Ad7257@reddit

There's also "the TT&A", but you can't say that to your great aunt, probably.

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2buckbill@reddit

We had a couple of those around here. Venture too.

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Money-Ad7257@reddit

At least one TG&Y became Venture in Oklahoma City (which was the home of the headquarters incidentally). I never went there, as we were K-Mart shoppers, but I'd see the price tags on classroom supplies for up to a decade after their closing. Venture's another story with its alternative-universe Target feel.

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what_the_fuckin_fuck@reddit

Blue light special!

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Money-Ad7257@reddit

They had JUST brought the Blue Light back when Venture changed over to Kmart. Looked a little like the frame of the hanging scoreboard you'd see in a well to do high school gym. I never was present during one, though.

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what_the_fuckin_fuck@reddit

I never saw a Venture, but in my hometown (southern Oklahoma) Kmart had blue lights pretty much all the time

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cyphertext71@reddit

It has been a minute, but are you talking about the Venture store that was on Shields... there was a movie theater in that same strip mall if I remember correctly.

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Money-Ad7257@reddit

This one was Rockwell Plaza, Expressway and Rockwell.

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2buckbill@reddit

There was a K-Mart within very easy walking distance when I was a kid. For several years they would set up a big screen TV in their K-Cafe and put on movies for kids while their parents went Christmas shopping. It was like $2 or $3 and you'd get a couple of cokes, a hot dog or hamburger, some fries, and some popcorn.

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Money-Ad7257@reddit

Aw that's neat! I don't remember such a thing, but the cafes I remember well, and sort of miss. The Venture near me as I grew up was walkable without crossing the streets (which I wasn't permitted to do), so I'd go there and eat in the cafe before buying whatever, instead of going to the numerous fast and fast casual restaurants just across the thoroughfare. The popcorn was legit, too. It scratched an itch that a microwaved bag wouldn't scratch, and I'd get a bag here and there.

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Impossible-Company78@reddit

Venture. Worked there in high school.

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foetusized@reddit

We had a McCrorys five & dime in the local mall, but no TG&Ys around here.

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Money-Ad7257@reddit

There was a McCrorys for some time here after TG&Y folded. I was into marbles as a kid, and I was overwhelmed with the huge display there of all varieties and sizes.

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TypicalDaydreem@reddit

Sprouse Reitz anyone?

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chavjinx@reddit

We had Woolworth & Newberry’s around here (PNW). Fred Meyer was fairly new when I was a kid and the one near my grandmother’s house still had a cafeteria in the basement.

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Time_Savings3365@reddit

There is still a Gibsons in kerrville TX, we go there when we're in town

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Ok-Kangaroo-4048@reddit

Wasn’t Otasco similar? I have a Matchbox/hotwheels style hello pickup truck that someone who worked there gave me while we were shopping. I only remember the name bc it’s written on the door of the truck.

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BeyondExcess@reddit

We had Pay ‘n Save in the PNW. Very similar to Kmart.

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DunkinEgg@reddit

We had a TG&Y and Gibson’s before Walmart.

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6ifted1@reddit

And Western Auto for bicycles and bicycle accessories. They must have sold car stuff too, but I spent all my time with the bikes I guess.

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DunkinEgg@reddit

Wow, I completely forgot about Western Auto until now. I used to go there with my dad so I could check out the bicycle stuff.

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stableos@reddit

What was the jingle? Western Auto, We’ll be . . . Good to you???

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what_the_fuckin_fuck@reddit

In Oklahoma, there were Otasco stores. Oklahoma Tire and Supply Company. We had western auto as well, but not in my hometown.

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Ryokurin@reddit

They were in several states. I grew up in Alabama and I remember that 1st bike came from there. It was gone by the late 80s however.

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hells_cowbells@reddit

They were in Mississippi, as well.

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Away_Bit_3382@reddit

Got my first bicycle there. Years later when I started smoking, WA had the cheapest per carton cigarettes.

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LayerNo3634@reddit

My husband bought his first shotgun at Western Auto. I think he was 15.

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IRingTwyce@reddit

Gibson's - The Best For Less!

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edgarecayce@reddit

Used to go to the Gibsons in Garland TX to buy my cheap crap as a kid all the time

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IRingTwyce@reddit

Denton for me!

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snow1868@reddit

I got a LOT of toys from TG&Y and Gibson's in the early 90s. They always seemed to have a good selection for most toys.

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what_the_fuckin_fuck@reddit

My cousin and I used to ride our bicycles a few miles to Gibsons and change price tags on stuff. I got one of those huge black Frisbees for 15 cents.

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Augusts_Mom@reddit

I remember these, we would get white knock off Keds tennis shoes here and they would have the school supplies bundled together by school.

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stormin1970@reddit

I never heard of most of these. We had Kmart, Murphy Mart and Hill's in Pittsburgh.

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NewRecommendation287@reddit

Murphys five & dime 3D Big Wheel Schultz

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Resident_Ofhome@reddit

Where were you?

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NewRecommendation287@reddit

Indiana

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Resident_Ofhome@reddit

Same! I thought maybe so

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NewRecommendation287@reddit

That's awesome! I'm wabash valley, how about you?

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Resident_Ofhome@reddit

SW Indiana by Evansville so close!!

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Efficient-Tart456@reddit

Town & Country, Woolworth’s & Tally Mart here in Central PA (1970’s)

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Unique-Fan-3042@reddit

I recall a store called Town and Country in California but seems like it was fancier than TG & Y.

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ComfortableOkra1697@reddit

In Orlando we had TG&Y as well as Woolworths, Woolco, Zayres (then Ames) & Roses. Also catalog showrooms; Luria’s, Service Merchandise, Leeds & Golden Triangle. Maybe there were more, those are the names that I remember.

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Unique-Fan-3042@reddit

There’s a Roses down the street from me. Decatur, GA

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jcostello50@reddit

Roses still exists, barely. There's one about 45 minutes away; I'm tempted to visit for old times sake

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ComfortableOkra1697@reddit

What area?

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jcostello50@reddit

The two I've seen are in Kentucky, Henderson and Bowling Green.

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Tejanisima@reddit

Gosh, I'd forgotten about Rose's, which I went to in North carolina.

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Mamagogo3@reddit

Oh yes - I remember TG&Y!

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buckbuckmow@reddit

https://preview.redd.it/5q2rdzlvip1g1.jpeg?width=1206&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc644f247543ca2d18aceef81067e85b9872f837 We had Zody’s in California. As a small child, I called it Zody’s Junk Box.

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False_Risk296@reddit

I remember both in southern California

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Vegetable_Owl995@reddit

Your best buy is at TG & Y

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HypnoFrog27@reddit

Definitely had a TG&Y and Zodys here in So Cal. And Gemco later on.

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Brilliant_Test_3045@reddit

Woolworth in California. McCrory's in Florida.

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olskooldj@reddit

TG & Y in Milpitas CA in the 70s. Used to go there to get Micro-nauts

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fantix01@reddit

Anyone recall 3-D stores?

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Befuddled_GenXer@reddit

Does anyone remember Big K? I pretty sure it wasn't related to K-Mart even though they did use the name later.

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frozen_charlotte@reddit

And Zody’s!

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Gweedo1967@reddit

Had that and Woolworths.

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mehfinder@reddit

Fond memories of these in Oklahoma in the 70s&80s

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HotnPerkyAZ1@reddit

Where middle school me scored the ultra super cool, black lung fu shoes…in my attempt to be ultra super cool myself! Southeast corner of Scottsdale road & Thomas 🩷🤩

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classicsat@reddit

Rural Canada, it as Zeller's and Bi-Way. Some cities had Bargin Harold's, and Tower's. A lot of Tower's became Zeller's except actually changing the name. The flyers each week were practically the same for both stores. Saan was around later, and also closed. Peoples was a small department store chain, that closed down years ago. Steadman's, maybe a decade ago.

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Extension_Case3722@reddit

We had Gemco- sounds similar

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TacoDeliDonaSauce@reddit

Gemco and Fedco.

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classicsat@reddit

Weren't these like club store, buy you had to be a federal government employee to join?

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TacoDeliDonaSauce@reddit

Yeah, Fedco for Fed employees. Gemco for… gemstone employees? (Nah, it was membership but like Costco - no rules). It eventually got sold to Target.

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TheClearcoatKid@reddit

My first bike came from Gemco, first baseball glove and pool cue from Fedco.

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Extension_Case3722@reddit

My mom would leave me in the book section while she did her shopping

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First-Ad-7960@reddit

Around here it was Caldor and Ames.

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classicsat@reddit

I seen Ames ads and stuff. That store almost looks like Zeller's in Canada, except the green theme, rather than Zeller's red.

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McVinney512@reddit

Was looking for Caldor. I loved that store as a kid

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Adventurous-Win8275@reddit

I gasped when I saw this! Loved our local TG&Y!

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Designing1166@reddit

We also had Gibson's in Oklahoma.

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ColonelBourbon@reddit

Used to get my Star Wars figures here. Bardstown, Kentucky.

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j2142b@reddit

Mom used to sew so we spent hours in there as kids (sister & I)

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writerlady6@reddit

My hometown had a Murphy's Mart, which was basically a Kmart copycat. Little cafe/restaurant inside too. Walking into the place, all you could smell was cherry pie, fresh coffee and hot grease that was about to yield a fresh batch of fries. All the clothing you bought there also smelled like fries when you got it home. That place was my first out-of-high-school, full-time job. It's also the reason I would rather take a board to the face than enter a retail store between November 20th and January 6th.

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Aggravating-Loss1805@reddit

I was 5 in kindergarten and this was first place I ever shoplifted lol, just a pack of crayons. I was also taken back and had to apologize to all the store workers. Thanks for the memory jog.

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theHollowTarnished@reddit (OP)

My mom made me do the same thing. It was candy and I had to go back in, tell them I stole it, snd apologize. Good parenting, but that was humiliating

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SJB3717@reddit

Must be regional. I never heard of this in the NorthEast, but I remember Hills before ever hearing about Walmart.

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Illustrious-Tap8069@reddit

That is where the toys are

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SJB3717@reddit

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w4Qjzwd7NAw

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Wise_Quality_5083@reddit

Gold Circle? Anybody?

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Illustrious-Tap8069@reddit

I remember the plastic bags hanging from the ceiling to catch the leaks.

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epicenter69@reddit

We had K-Mart and Zayre.

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Illustrious-Tap8069@reddit

And bEST

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dajacketfanOG@reddit

Holy crap, had totally blanked this out until I just said it 5 times in a row. Was THE non-mall store in my middle Tennessee burb in the 70’s-early 80’s

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cakevictim@reddit

We had Big K and Fred’s in my middle TN area

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mommacat94@reddit

Tennessee burbs same time, and we went all the time.

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dajacketfanOG@reddit

Cool! Mine was Tullahoma - born, came back from 75-82, then just visited from time to time since

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omhound@reddit

Strange. I'm from Memphis and mine was on Tchulahoma rd.

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BottleAgreeable7981@reddit

We had Kiddie World here.

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OptiGuy4u@reddit

TG&Y was a staple of my childhood! Also Payless (not the shoe store) it was very similar.

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thechervil@reddit

We had Moses Five and Dime and Woolworths.

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Tejanisima@reddit

Where were you living? Here in Dallas we had M.E. Moses, which I assume is the same.

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thechervil@reddit

Grew up in Arlington!

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Tejanisima@reddit

Did y'all have a Crystal's Pizza & Spaghetti also, or is that Irving I'm thinking of? I know one or the other still had theirs after our one in North Dallas had closed...

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thechervil@reddit

Pretty sure that’s Irving. We never had one of those.

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DeepRoot@reddit

We had Memco!

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Open_Mortgage_4645@reddit

I don't recognize this one, but we had K-Mart, Jamesway, and Caldor.

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Oldebookworm@reddit

And Yellowfront

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DDlg72@reddit

Oh my gosh I forgot about this store! Remember Gibson's?

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Big-Adamsid@reddit

Had a T G & Y two blocks from my house when I was a kid.

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needlenozened@reddit

When I was a kid and my dad was away for work, Mom would take us out to dinner on Fridays. (Pizza Hut placemat games!) After dinner we would go to TG&Y and Mom would look at sewing patterns for about half an hour, while my brother and I wandered.

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Blazenkks@reddit

Best selection of GI Joes that was closer than Toys r Us.

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Jettcat-@reddit

It was Gemco for us

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heidi_abromowitz@reddit

Turtles, girdles, and yarn

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aberfoyle496@reddit

I always heard it Turtles, Girdles and Yo-Yos.

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bene_gesserit_mitch@reddit

Toys, games, & Yo-yos here.

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Original-Dinner-435@reddit

We called it Toys Guns and Yoyos

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ClassicOutrageous447@reddit

Small town Indiana. That's what we called ours, too.

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gdubh@reddit

That’s what we would say.

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Dalmatian_Carl@reddit

It’s crazy how we all heard the same type things before internet. I heard it like this too.

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Commander-of-ducks@reddit

And Winn's

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Weird-Girl-675@reddit

We had Janesway in NOVA. Got some great deals when they went out of business.

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Crazy-Project3858@reddit

Only place in our small town that sold top forty vinyl and cassettes

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Previous_Wedding_577@reddit

We had Woolco and Zellers in Canada.

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becuzofgrace@reddit

And Yellow Front

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Independent-Monk5064@reddit

Me too!

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Tejanisima@reddit

In Texas, we had M. E. Moses 5&10 and in small towns, Ben Franklin. The M. E. Moses was not only a place for me to get toys, but also after my Baba died and I inherited her old 1920s scrapbooks, it was the only place I knew that I could find those little photo corners that were no longer a thing in the 1980s thanks to the wonderful new technology of sticky photo album pages... which we did not yet know was bad for the photos, unlike the corners.

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RepairmanJackX@reddit

It was Woolworths for me.

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ExcellentOriginal321@reddit

Duke and Ayer’s!!

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No_Contest_4830@reddit

Thank god its yesterday

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WillNotSeeReply@reddit

https://preview.redd.it/ti9jzjrx4q1g1.png?width=1008&format=png&auto=webp&s=93088e4ac97cd515b19f8ae059209aad8608f31c G.L. Perry -- This location, seen years after shutting down.

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radiowave911@reddit

We had K-Mart and Kresge's - the latter like a low-end K-Mart, as I recall. Both were owned by the same company - the K in K-Mart stood for Kresge, as in S. S. Kresge - the company that owned the stores.

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Papichuloft@reddit

My local one closed around 89 or 90. One of my aunt's favorite store to buy and to browse. She was the only one to make it to 90 and passed away about 6 years ago.

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Fire_Doc2017@reddit

We had Grants and Jamesway.

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Biofred@reddit

Definitely remember going there as a kid . Always got a Hot Wheels car when we went.

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Resident_Ofhome@reddit

We had 3-D and Hills as well as KMart and Big Wheel

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LetheSystem@reddit

You could get models there! Snap together ships, but also cars and planes you had to glue together - the real deal models. They eventually put the model glue in a cabinet, I think? That's where the phrase "huffing glue" entered my consciousness. You could also get cap guns - the kind with the paper scroll and the stupid plastic wheel kind that ran out in no time.

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Zpgrl@reddit

I’ll never forget my first trip to a super Walmart in the early 90’s- I was thinking, “It’s going to take some getting used to buying my meat and my underwear at the same place!”

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4lug39@reddit

Here in Texas we had Winns and Gibsons.

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Gullible-Apricot3379@reddit

We had a TG&Y in Abilene. If we had a Gibson, I don't remember it, though I do remember the one in Lawton, OK when I want to visit family.

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Ghostrecon3068@reddit

Omg...now that's a flash back. I remember them, Wool Worth, Kmart...which most of my clothes came from. Or Montgomery Ward

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Gullible-Apricot3379@reddit

I'd honestly forgotten TG&Y. I was pretty young when it closed, but not so young that I don't remember it (maybe 10 or so?). I remember when the first Walmart opened in my hometown and how cool it was (it was also really close to where we lived).

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CourageFamiliar8506@reddit

Oh my gosh… I have not even thought about TG & Y in years!!!

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smalltalk2k@reddit

TG&Y ruled. I loved that store.

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capthazelwoodsflask@reddit

Oh wow, I completely forgot that name. That was the store next to the dance studio my older sister went to. My mom would buy me a Sgt. Rock figure there while we waited for her to be done with dance class. It later became an Odd Lots then a Big Lots. I think it’s a Planet Fitness now.

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iknownothingbutpaint@reddit

We had K-mart

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CynicalOptimistSF@reddit

I remember going to TG&Y with my mom. I'd look through their book racks while she shopped for yarn or crafting and sewing supplies. If I didn't pester her while she shopped, I could usually talk her into buying me a paperback. My mom liked to craft, so I ended up with quite the paperback collection of Peanuts, Heathcliff, BC, and various other comic strips. And so many trivia books, like the Book of Lists.

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daniegirl21@reddit

What about the five and dime stores. I remember going to those as a kid. Ben Franklin Stores were popular too, but I think they were more for crafts.

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GratefulDad73@reddit

Hell yes! I loved visiting our local TG&Y as young kid.

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GratefulDad73@reddit

All my baseball cards, Matchbox, Hot Wheels and GI Joes came from TG&Y. A lot of model cars too.

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drifter3026@reddit

Two Guys, Caldor and KMart were my stores as a kid.

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BlueProcess@reddit

My internet-ruin brain read that as: "teh gay".

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thai-stik-admin@reddit

We had Kmart and Skycity

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Remarkable_Salad_250@reddit

Don’t remember this store, though we did have a Woolworth, a Service Merchandise, and an S&H Greenstamps store

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Badfish1060@reddit

core memory unlocked

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Jew-zilla@reddit

Zayre

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holidayoffools@reddit

Loved this place as a kid. Still remember the smell of the rubber masks at Halloween...so nostalgic.

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Katerinaxoxo@reddit

California here we had a TG&Y!

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MrMcGibblets86@reddit

Wow, I totally forgot about this place. What about Zodys? (ORANGE COUNTY, SO CAL)

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what_the_fuckin_fuck@reddit

Toys, Games, & Yoyos.

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oops_all_baphomets@reddit

TG &Y and Woolco’s in Central Florida they both had great toy sections. Also had the Woolworth’s with lunch counter. And the K-Mart of course.

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Hortn8r@reddit

We had one in Phoenix,Az. I would always get my little league baseball gear from there.

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TopicalTimmy@reddit

Your Best Buy is at T G and Y

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yahoosadu@reddit

We had Jamesway

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meat_sack@reddit

Yeah, Jamesway was what I remember in NJ. And before Home Depot and Lowes, there was Channel Home Centers.

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Efficient-Tart456@reddit

Hechinger’s here in PA

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Dead_Is_Better@reddit

And Rickles in my part of NJ.

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cowboygwe@reddit

They also had the best candy selection, one whole row left to right!!

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10202632@reddit

🎶Your Best Buy is at TG&Y 🎶

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Konorlc@reddit

Turtles, girdles and yoyos.

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violetleia@reddit

I will forever miss TG&Y. Also, Woolworth's and Kmart.

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innernerdgirl@reddit

Your best buy at TG&Y

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charliefoxtrot9@reddit

These and A&P

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Grunge4U@reddit

We had these, Zayre's and GC Murphy.

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wieldymouse@reddit

And Zayre

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Viking_Cowboy5005@reddit

We had TG&Y, Perry's (where I got my first Halloween costume), and there was even a store called AIM, where I conned my mom into buying me my first He-Man figure!

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notfromhere007@reddit

That and the Winn Dixie were where we shopped... I think we had a Barneys too.. for shoes maybe...

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StrikingTradition75@reddit

It was McCrory in my area, but all of the little price stickers on all of the merchandise for sale in the stores said "TG&Y".

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mp3bear@reddit

These as well as McCrory's...

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Dead_Is_Better@reddit

I loved our McCrory's. Where else could you get baby painted turtles that carried salmonella and a banana split for a penny at their food counter if you popped the right balloon with a dart. That store was awesome.

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lawstandaloan@reddit

Remember Grant's?

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Dead_Is_Better@reddit

My Mom worked in one when I was a little kid, so late 60's early 70's. I remember when they went out of business and what a madhouse the store was on the final day. I got a cool mesh shirt with the #12 on it that day.

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SlideItIn100@reddit

Yes, and they’re restaurant!

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seasarahsss@reddit

We had Caldors, Bradlees and Zayre. New England.

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Curious_Catlady1@reddit

TG&Y here in KC, along with Venture!

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DidelphisGinny@reddit

Fabrics and patterns! Live frogs and turtles and fish!

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BonesCrosby@reddit

College friend of mine had a tv from there

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Fitz_2112b@reddit

We had TSS (Times Square Stores) long before we had a Walmart or Kmart in my area

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aogamerdude@reddit

It was either that or Pamida, at least a couple towns 30ish miles from where I was growing up had those.

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hellomodern@reddit

Where I lived (WA/OR) we had variety stores called Yard Birds. I remember spending maybe an hour (hard to be sure on kid-time) ogling the Darci fashion dolls in the toy dept once there.

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jdragun2@reddit

We had Jamesway in NY.

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earthtobobby@reddit

Wow yeah, TG&Y, that’s a buried memory.

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SummerBirdsong@reddit

Toys, Guns, & Yarn

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XerTrekker@reddit

I was barely old enough to remember going in there, I don’t even remember what we bought. It closed and we got a Target closer to home, so I mainly remember going there.

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Tomatillo-5276@reddit

We had Thrifty's (California)

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some_one_234@reddit

And Zodys

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Tomatillo-5276@reddit

I've never heard of Zody's... Where was that.

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some_one_234@reddit

In SoCal

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Tomatillo-5276@reddit

Ok... I was in Nor Cal

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froction@reddit

Our TG&Ys got replaced with K-Marts some time in the 80s.

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Mission-Seesaw5689@reddit

We went there all the time in Liberty MO and also Venture was big around here.

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Extreme-Expression59@reddit

I remember going to Fisher Big wheel and McCrory’s five & dime

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qgecko@reddit

Toys, Gifts, and Yes (I have no idea why “yes” but it’s what we called it).

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Money-Ad7257@reddit

Probably, "do we need this? 'yes'".

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ZweitenMal@reddit

My dad called it “toys, games, and yo-yos”.

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rcreames@reddit

My hometown was too small for a T-GandY. We had a Duckwall's which was part of ALCO.

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Beautiful-Low9454@reddit

I had to do good at the doctors office getting a shot and then I get to get a toy matchbox car

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SlideItIn100@reddit

We had Two Guys, Zayre and Bradlee’s

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Objective_Site3528@reddit

I remember how upset my mom was when our TG&Y store was turned into a Sears. From then on we had to go to Kmart.

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ShelbyDriver@reddit

Back when they were called dime stores.

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Ancient_Seat_7456@reddit

We had a Perry's before TG&Y!

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I_Dont_Answer@reddit

I (50M) recall getting a single scoop cone for $0.10, $0.15 if I wanted the taster sugar cone instead of the flavorless cardboard one from the TG&Y just down the street from my childhood home.

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Illustrious-Grl-7979@reddit

Yes, I was in high school before my small town had access to a Walmart or McDonalds, lol.

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Authentic_chop_suey@reddit

I remember the 10 cent boxes of candy and the taiyma military miniatures.

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FlopShanoobie@reddit

I found a book on the shelf at my mom’s house just yesterday that still had a TG&Y price tag on it ($.77) that had to have been from 1977-1983 when we lived in that market.

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