When Cents Made Sense

There was a time when every town had at least one 5 and 10 cent store, most were items made in the United States: G. C. Murphy, J. G. McCrory, and Woolworth are to name a few. The ones that I remember more vividly from my childhood are the Murphy’s and McCrory’s located in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. The stores sat just across the street from each other. Their large display windows could almost mirror each other’s displays. Both had an upstairs and downstairs section to their stores.

Upon entering J. G. Murphy store there were steps that led downstairs to another wide expanse of merchandise that spanned the entire floor. In the back of the basement were stairs that led up and into the alley. Located at the bottom of the stairs was a coin operated riding horse and the restrooms. Outside of the ladies restroom was a niche with several green leather sofas.

The restrooms back then were pay toilets with a slot to insert a dime to open the stall door. I wonder how many women crawled under the privacy panels or sent a kid inside to open the door. Some women carried a dime in their shoe, just in case. Upstairs in Murphy’s was a candy counter and a hot nut display, cashews and Spanish peanuts, the sweets and nuts were weighed out and sealed in paper bags. Clothing, shoes, hats, and socks filled the counters. Downstairs were drapes, bedding, and toys.

J. G. McCrory store had one floor with the basement for storage and stock. At the front, you entered on the street level and their merchandise was on display. Because they only had one floor, their selection of items was smaller, but they did have a cafeteria with a long counter and swivel stools. I can’t remember eating there, but the food always smelled good.

McCrory’s was where I had my incident with the electronic bird, smothering its song with another bag of birdseed. It was after Christmas and the electronic bird bal wore itself long before the Christmas tree was tucked away. As my wife Cindy and I mounted the stairs, we were greeted by the bird’s chirping. I knew Cindy would be shopping for awhile and thought I can’t stand it much longer. Stealthily I made my way back to the display, quickly glanced around, and placed a bag of seed over the offending silver ball. Immediately the CHEEP, CHEEP went to cheep, cheep and I walked away.