K-Mart in the 70's

[kryptosmaster]

We lived out in the boonies in a village in western NYS called Angola. We didn't have anything like a Kmart nearby. We had to drive maybe 10-15 miles to one but we went quite often. You could get just about anything you needed at a Kmart back then. I think the biggest competitor in my area was a store called Twin fair and that store was the BOMB! I LOVED Twin Fair but the store I loved best for toys like Megos was called Two Guys!
That's the store I think of when i think of Megos. You didn't have to ask me to get in the car twice when Two Guys was mentioned as the destination!
But I do recall tons of Megos on the pegs at Kmart pluis the other knockoffs too. Can never remember if it was AHI or Lincoln but I got one of the Wolfman there.

Rich

[kryptosmaster]

My allowance was only 2.00 a week and it was the hardest thing in the world to wait 2 weeks in order to have enough to buy a $2.99 Mego.

I

You got $2? Man I was getting ripped off at $1.25 a week! LOL
Of course that was more than enough to go to a matinee movie at the local theater and get popcorn AND candy!
Try THAT today!!!!!

Rich

[kryptosmaster]

One thing I will NEVER understand is how every Kmart I have ever been in smells the same. And its the same smell from the 70s too. How is that possible?

Mark

I think that same thing about Wal-mart, only it's not a GOOD smell to me. It smells like a goodwill/thrift store.

Rich

[brannon86]

Its Saturday, Im watching my favorite Saturday morning tv shows. Im also waiting on my grandparents to come into town, then we can all go to K-Mart (like we always do when they come)and then I can spend my allowance on Megos, Adventure People, Hot Wheels, etc, then get an Icee. NOOOOOO! Wait! What am I saying? Ok, I just woke up from my dream. Damn It......Oh well, its 2008, and Im 40 years old (about to be 41). Back to reality....

[brannon86]

K-Mart

Oh yeah, I remember that to. Wow, thanks for bringing that up. Another memory triggered....

[Ranger 3]

One thing I remember out our K-Mart in the 70s was the giant Pez vending machine. Worked like a cigarette machine- the despenser and candy came in a cardboard box.

M

[brannon86]

K-Mart

Oh yes, the Icees. I had to have an Icee at K-mart. I mostly got the banana flavour(when they had it), but I got cola alot also. Cherry was good also. I remember the gumball machines at the exit door going out, with the mood rings, rubber balls, and other toys in the round, plastic ball containers. Also, do you remember the giant pixi sticks in the long box? They were near the exit door also. I guess you could get one when you came in , because the exit was right by the door coming in. They were divided by a metal petition.Also, I remember the sprorting goods department being in the back of the store. I bought alot of my snorkeling equipment back there. AMF Voit mask and fins and snorkel. I bought alot of my shoes also from K-mart. Those cheesy 70 no name brand ones, Ha....

[BendyZaius]

Some of my fond K-mart memories:

The ICEE stand right at the entrance with the giant ICEE bear sitting on top. I haven't had a cherry ICEE is 25 years, bet it would bring back memories.

The really lame cafeteria way at the back of the store with the fake wood-grain tables and orange booth seats. You could park your shopping cart right outside where you were eating to keep an eye on your toys.

The racks of great monster and sci-fi 8mm films over in the camera dept (pre-vhs days of course). They had awesome box art. We had an 8mm camera and projector but my parents only used it to film holidays etc.

One of the best arrays of gumball machines anywhere at the exit. You could get really neat jiggler toys etc for 25 cents.

K-mart was the best. Its sad to go in there now and see what it has become, but at least its still hanging on. (Damn you Walmart!)

[brannon86]

K-Mart

Cool, price tag and all....

[Remco Monster]

[DocDrako]

We went to K-Mart alot. We had an Uncle Happy's Toy Shop in town, but it was way across town for us and my folks weren't going to drive there just for a toy store. It was okay though because K-Mart rocked back then. My mom and I would usually go there together, shop awhile, eat in the cafeteria, shop some more, and go home. Unfortunately, I was big into Star Wars then so I never checked out any other aisles except the Star Wars aisle. I hate to think of the Mego goodness that probably resided only an aisle or two away. But then, had I collected Megos back then, I'd probably be at The Star Wars Museum. I can still remember what the aisle looked like the last time I was there buying Star Wars figures. I did however buy a couple of Buck Rogers figures to go with my Star Wars "men". Back then I didn't know they were made by Mego.

To me as a kid, K-Mart was the best. Now it's pretty Lame-O. Then again, I'm not a kid anymore. At least, not legally.



By the way, does anyone remember Grand Central? Just a random memory...

[brannon86]

K-Mart

I remember really well, buying my Six Million Dollar Man there, and my Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Fisher Price Adventure People stuff, Heroes In Action, models, school supplies(lunchboxes, paper, pencils, erasers, etc), GI Joe stuff, Big Jim, Star Wars(Original figures), Evil Knievel stunt cycle, and lots of other cool stuff back in the day.

[Ranger 3]

I talked my grandfather into taking me that night and I bought Batgirl and Supergirl. He asked me "why are you spending your money on dolls?" with a very disapproving expression on his face. I don't recall what my explanation was to him at the time, but I'm sure he thought it very bizarre that his grandson was buying girl dolls with hair.

Not to hijack this thread away from the Kmart discussion, but I had a similar experience at Kresge's. I was HEAVY into the 6MDM/Bionic line, and when the Bionic Woman doll came out, I had to have it. However, I was still a little embarrased at the though of being seen (by anyone) buying a female 'doll'. So I went into the store with my mom, pointed out what I wanted, and ran to the car to wait for her to buy it for me!

Oh, the memories...

Mark

[grayhank]

I got most of my Megos at K-mart or Woolworth's. My mom would go to K-mart just about every Saturday. My allowance was only 2.00 a week and it was the hardest thing in the world to wait 2 weeks in order to have enough to buy a $2.99 Mego.

I remember I had enough money to buy two Megos one day and I wanted to go to Kmart so bad to get some. My mom wouldn't take me though. So I talked my grandfather into taking me that night and I bought Batgirl and Supergirl. He asked me "why are you spending your money on dolls?" with a very disapproving expression on his face. I don't recall what my explanation was to him at the time, but I'm sure he thought it very bizarre that his grandson was buying girl dolls with hair.

And yes, shopping at Kmart was very frowned upon by other school kids because they didn't carry name brands like Levi's back then. If you didn't get your clothes at the mall, you were made fun of. I still love my Wrangler jeans though

[wyatterb]

I spent alot of time at Kmart. It was one of the few stores on the edge of Urbana that was close for for those of us who lived in one of the numberous small towns in the area. Sadly, it's gone and replaced with apartment buildings. I know that both my Mego Batman and Robin both came from that KMart. One of my biggest mego regrets (for a 6 year old) was that I had saved up $5 with the intent of buying Megos, however the day before I went to a birthday party and won my first Star Wars figure (R2D2) as a prize. [You can tell where this is going] Up until I got to the store I was Mego set. I really wanted to have more than just B&R, so any DC character would be fine with me. So once I get to Kmart I see that on one side of the isle we have 1979 Mego goodness: I remember Superman Batgirl, Joker, Penguin, Spiderman, Hulk, Captain America, & Conan. On the other side of the isle, we have Star Wars goodies. I think the concept of 2 SW figures can be purchased for the same price as 1 Mego figure swayed the decision. Even more humiliating is that I didn't pick cool lead characters like Vader or Luke, I picked C3-PO and Hammerhead. I rarely looked at the Mego stuff after that as I was fully emersed in the world of Star Wars. I do remember seeing Aquaman vs the Great White Shark sets there for many years after that, but still passed on it.