Before Walmart

[amadeus]

Welcome back. :)

Before Walmart? Oh yes, in my hometown there was the K-Mart. :) I got my first real job in their shoe department. Prior to that I was an Avon door to door sales girl/teen.
Years later, with the advent of the new Super Walmart K-Mart closed down.

Remember when Walmart first opened? Maybe in the hometowns of some here who can remember the, "MADE IN AMERICA", signs that were hanging from the ceilings and over all departments.

And the check-out policy sign at every register. If more than 3 people are waiting in line another register will open immediately.

After Sam Walton died, those signs came down all over the nation.
Not long ago the Walton family sold their American holdings of all Walmart interests, Sams Club, etc... to CHINA! Making world history in a company sale. More than half a trillion dollars.

Half
a
trillion
dollars! More than 5 hundred billion.
From China.

Thanks for the welcome back!

I remember very well. Sam Walton's pictures were in the stores and my wife worked as CSM [Customer Service Manager] and part of her job was to see to it that if the lines got too long [more than 3], another cash register would be opened... but that was a very long time ago.

 

[amadeus]

Doctor Dimento show was on every Sunday night...

Hamster Love
Dead dog rover
Gotta get a fake ID
And many many more.

We must have lived in different worlds or times. Not one of those rings a bell with me.

 

[Nancy]

I kinda wonder if I'm remembering Woolworths rather than Woolco. :)

Hmm, do you remember Woolworths? I loved it as a kid. They had balloons that we could pop and win a sundae or some kind of treat!

 

[TLHKAJ]

Hmm, do you remember Woolworths? I loved it as a kid. They had balloons that we could pop and win a sundae or some kind of treat!

I know it was one or the other. lol
I'm gonna have to dig a little to be sure. I just know I was little ...younger than age 10. Being that for much of my life, I couldn't remember ages 7 to 10, those years are still being made more clear. But my aunt worked there, and they had clothing and other things (toys, makeup, etc) ....and a delicatessen. lol

 

[Mayflower]

Anyone ever hear of HEB? It was a grocery store in Texas. Don't know if it was just a Texas thing or not.

 

[JohnDB]

We must have lived in different worlds or times. Not one of those rings a bell with me.

Surely you have heard of Weird Al Yankovic...

He wasn't the only one singing parody songs...there was a whole troupe of people singing parody songs...and the Doctor Dimento radio show played all of them.

Mad Magazine was popular because they said Palestinians were mad terrorist bombers and that Syria was going to shoot us down with our own jets we sold them. (Now today are derelict)

 

[TLHKAJ]

Anyone ever hear of HEB? It was a grocery store in Texas. Don't know if it was just a Texas thing or not.

The only place I ever saw one was in certain parts of Texas.

 

[mailmandan]

The only place I ever saw one was in certain parts of Texas.

I always know I’m in Texas when I see this..

 

[TLHKAJ]

I always know I’m in Texas when I see this..

View attachment 13186

LOL!! That's hilarious!

 

[Mayflower]

I always know I’m in Texas when I see this..

View attachment 13186

I saw this exact thing (not usually.). Lol. But what was really odd is moving to Indiana and seeing Amish carriages parked outside Mcdonalds. And a little boy on homemade rollerskates rolling from the back of a carriage.

 

[TLHKAJ]

I saw this exact thing (not usually.). Lol. But what was really odd is moving to Indiana and seeing Amish carriages parked outside Mcdonalds. And a little boy on homemade rollerskates rolling from the back of a carriage.

Oh my goodness!! I can actually picture that! Lol

 

[jaybird]

What I remember and miss so much ,late 70s and 80s,are all the little independent fast food places, where I lived we had burger shack, burger master, dairy barn, shorties, etc, they were all modeled after fast food chains we have today but they were all locally owned. Dont see these at all anymore.

I dont remember 35 cent burgers, I remember when the value menu was new. Taco bell was the first one I can remember, 51 cen tacos. We thought they were so awesome, especially then they did 24 hr drive through on friday and saturday, taco bell drive through at 3 am was much better than the truck stop that had no drive through and would always kick us out anyway for being to loud and rowdy.

 

[DancesWithGnostics]

Before Walmart was, I am.

 

[amadeus]

Surely you have heard of Weird Al Yankovic...

Sorry no!

He wasn't the only one singing parody songs...there was a whole troupe of people singing parody songs...and the Doctor Dimento radio show played all of them.

Mad Magazine was popular because they said Palestinians were mad terrorist bombers and that Syria was going to shoot us down with our own jets we sold them. (Now today are derelict)

Sorry I didn't listen to the radio any more once I went in the Army in 1963 except on the AFRS. For the first year I was training in New Jersey but we did not have a radio or TV so no music until I went to Viet Nam in 1964. Since the AFRS [Armed Forces Radio Station] passed through my equipment in Viet Nam I listened to what they played for nearly a year. When I entered the Army I was already a fan of Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Cash, Pat Boone, The Everly Brothers and Connie Francis type of music.

I had my hearing damaged by machine gun fire while on active duty so after that I would not listen to any kind of loud music. That is still true as hearing aids to this day don't help a whole lot.

While I was in Viet Nam I remember receiving a letter from my brother who was 10 years younger than me. He asked me what I thought about the Beatles. He was crazy about them but they were not on AFRS and I had never heard of them. When I got out of the Army [1966] I started going to college, but I was older than many of my classmates and I mostly listened to songs which to them would have already been 'oldies' plus a few folk singers.

 

[Taken]

Thanks for the welcome back!

I remember very well. Sam Walton's pictures were in the stores and my wife worked as CSM [Customer Service Manager] and part of her job was to see to it that if the lines got too long [more than 3], another cash register would be opened... but that was a very long time ago.

LOL...it's part of the Gimmick ...
Tout...American
Tout ... All about the Customer...

Real 'em in...
Convenience of Location; Buy American; less expensive...BECAUSE they buy in BULK!

OVER Power small businesses...
Small businesses Close.

•Big Surprise...They Do Buy IN BULK....
BUT NOT FROM AMERICAN WORKERS!

•WHAT? HUH?
•What happened to Buy American?
•Never Existed...just an Advertising GIMMICK
:cool::cool:

•But, But, The People Want their Small Businesses BACK...
•Too Bad! That ship has sailed!
•Foreign Junk is IN...American Workers are OUT....Welfare States...Governments theirs new Daddy Caretaker!

•Big Box Stores...still convenient locations.
•No more expense of sending routine Fake Gimmick Flyers and expense of routine TV Advertising.
•No more America First Advertising.
•No more competition.
•No more Customer first.
...Customers can wander the stores...(and play the SEEK game, of their constant, rearranging).
•No more opening registers when shoppers are 3+ deep.
•I keep my eyes open for small town local shops, and try to avoid big box foreign shopping and Amazon drop shippers.

 

[Truman]

Glad to see you're back, Amadeus! My mother worked at K-Mart for 14 years. I liked K-Mart. I don't think they sold much Chinese merchandise, though I could be wrong. They did, however, sell piranhas in their pet department. Man, they were nasty! :)

 

[amadeus]

Glad to see you're back, Amadeus! My mother worked at K-Mart for 14 years. I liked K-Mart. I don't think they sold much Chinese merchandise, though I could be wrong. They did, however, sell piranhas in their pet department. Man, they were nasty! :)

Thanks Truman Ron! I had trouble properly caring regular domestic fish in a home fish tank. I would skip the piranhas in any case.

 

[Taken]

We had one of two KFCs here and I loved them, but then both shut down for some unknown reason. Then when one of them finally opened up again I was delighted, but as it turns out, I think they use more low grade, trashy chicken now, because the quality doesn't seem near as good, and their prices are low compared to all the other chicken fast food places here.

That's a bummer, because I always thought the original KFC recipe was excellent.

I used to love Burger King...a great occasional Treat.
Never go anymore, crappy. Fast food use to be a treat...now the food is crappy and convoluted with too many menu items.
Haven't had KFC for about 5 years...thanks for the heads-up. ;)