Woolworth’s Dime Store

The photo of the lunch counter at Woolworth’s, taken at the reopening in 1959, brings back fond memories. When you were growing up and shopping with your mother at Woolworth’s, a milk shake or maybe a dish of ice cream at the lunch counter was the hoped for reward for having to endure waiting with her as she looked through the notions and the housewares departments. At the lunch counter you could swivel back and forth on the stool, stare at the dispenser that kept the orangeade cold and watch the lady cooking hamburgers on the grill.

At the beginning of the school year in the 1940s and 1950s, elementary school students were expected to find a cigar box and fill it with pencils, a box of crayons, scissors, an eraser, and Lepage’s paste. Shopping for those items at Woolworth’s meant school would be starting soon. In February you bought Valentine cards at Woolworth’s to exchange with your classmates. But the best time to go to Woolworth’s was at Christmastime. The show windows at the front of the store were decorated with red bells, wreaths, silver garlands and images of Santa and his reindeer. Counters were stocked with boxes of Christmas cards, festive wrapping papers, ribbon and tags, boxes of colored glass ornaments, lead tinsel, and strings of lights for the tree. A treat at the candy counter was a chunk of Rockwood chocolate weighed by the sales clerk and put in a paper bag to take home with you.

The F. W. Woolworth’s store in Carlisle opened with a public reception on Friday, October 21, 1910. The store was decorated with palms and ferns, and Leo McDonald’s orchestra played while visitors walked up and down the aisles admiring the new store and its goods. Located on North Hanover Street, Woolworth’s occupied a portion of the Mentzer Building. The store was 27 feet wide, 165 feet long and displayed what would be its iconic red store front.¹

FIRE. In March 1924, a huge fire broke out on North Hanover Street and totally destroyed Woolworth’s store in the Hertzler Building (formerly Mentzer’s). The loss was estimated at $20,000. The building was razed, and a new building was constructed. The formal opening of the new store was attended by thousands on Friday, November 14, 1924. The new store was much wider. The main room was frescoed in panels of buff, white, and gold, and in the center of each panel was a red letter “W.” The office, Rest Rooms, and a Cloak Room were in the rear of the store. The two rooms adjoining Woolworth’s that occupied the new building were the Army and Navy Store and Carlisle Meat Market.²

In 1938 Woolworth’s was expanded and now covered the whole first floor of the building. Managers from other Pennsylvania Woolworth stores were brought in to help Manager G. E. Rudisill prepare for the opening of the store, and girls from Harrisburg Woolworth’s worked temporarily to restock the counters and set up displays. The formal opening took place on Friday, July 29, 1938. The floor space was increased from 3100 feet to 7700 square feet and took over the space formerly occupied by the Rosen Sample Shop and the Carlisle Meat Market. The front of the store was now 58 feet wide with six show windows and three double entrances. A stainless-steel awning was added, and black granite from Wisconsin was used for the trim on the front of the store. The basement was converted into the stock room, and two store entrances were added in the rear. The new store was air-cooled by a system of fans and forced exhaust on the roof. New chrome counters were added as well as a lunch counter and soda fountain with seating for 12 customers. The increase in the size of the store meant that the staff was increased to thirty employees. Higher priced merchandise was stocked, and prices now ranged from five cents to a dollar. Store hours were Monday through Friday from 9-5, and the store stayed open on Saturdays until 9:30 in the evening.³

The next improvements were made to Woolworth’s in 1952. The entire store was repainted, and new lights were installed. Counter space was enlarged for the customers’ convenience. Several new lines of merchandise were added: large tools in the hardware department, house plants, pets, men’s work clothes, children’s play clothes, ladies’ lingerie, and children’s shoes. To facilitate the addition of these new lines, five or six new “wrap-up” and cashier stations were scattered throughout the store so that customers could bring their articles there to pay for them if the counter clerks were busy.⁴

Big changes heralded the 1959 renovation of the store. Self-service had arrived. Check-out counters were installed at the front and the rear of the store. There was now a “bargain basement” that featured furniture and draperies, and the lunch counter was enlarged to seat 37. On July 16, 1959, Carlisle Borough officials and representatives from F. W. Woolworth Company cut the ribbon to open the enlarged store, with its new electric sign. Manager Rudisill had shepherded Woolworth’s Carlisle store since 1932 when there was only 365 feet of counter space and only six employees.⁵

On Wednesday, December 13, 1960, forty-seven Woolworth employees were hosted at a dinner at the James Wilson Hotel in Carlisle. Four of the longest serving employees were featured in the newspaper: Mrs. Dorothy Keller, who had worked there for 23 years; Mrs. Bessie Smith, who had been there for 40 years; Mrs. Ruth Gilbert, with 18 years; and Mrs. Sara Pensyl, who had worked there for 29 years.⁶