Fuzz wrote :

Some department stores I miss from when I was a kid - Gold Circle, Hills, Ames. -end quote

We didn't have Gold Circle around here but we did have Ames and Hills. Such a sin they're gone because I always liked them a lot more than Wal-Mart. Hills was one of my favorite place to go shop for toys as a kid. I remember this one place near me, Greengate Mall used to have a Montgomery Ward's but they pretty much went under. Once the Montgomery Ward's went under it took that whole mall with it. I still remember me and my brother trying to teach this one girl I was seeing at the time how to drive in the parking lot. Nowadays that mall's been torn down and replaced with a Walmart and an open air shopping center. Greengate Mall was already redundant when they opened up Westmoreland Mall a few miles down the road from it but Montgomery Ward's and a Ladbroke's off track betting place were still keeping it afloat. 

The Hills of my memories and the actual Hills that existed are probably NOT the same, but the fact that it was the largest department store in my area (and that we had to drive only slightly less than an hour to get there) made it a very big deal to me.

On a side note, I've learned that the nearest K-Mart to me will be closing it's doors this coming February. That makes me sad too.

There used to be a store here in connecticut called ames that isn't around anymore. The one that was in my town people always said was haunted (at least that's what people in my family said it was).

Back before Game Stop's monopoly I used to get most of my games from here:



Also for Music n' stuff I'm not sure if it was a national chain or just local but there used to be a Bebop Records or something like that... Aaand after some quick googling I think it was just one store in town. Nevermind.

Some drug stores which comes to mind would be Eckerds. I don't think they're around anymore. Wouldn't be surprised if Rite Aid bought them.

I used to also get my video games from Babbage's all the time. Miss that place.

I grew up with Ames during their last legs. Loved going there as a kid with my grandmother.

I never really cared for Ames, tbh. I think it's because the one that was close to my old house was super dirty and always smelled like pee x_x I'm sure that if we went to a different one I'd have better memories, lol.

VillechaizeLove wrote :

I never really cared for Ames, tbh. I think it's because the one that was close to my old house was super dirty and always smelled like pee x_x I'm sure that if we went to a different one I'd have better memories, lol. -end quote

Actually, I kinda feel the same way. Ames reminded me of a larger scale Big Lots. I think it was even worse than today's K-Marts are, as far as overall condition of the buildings they inhabited, cleanliness, and decor/signage. Which is odd, considering that both local Ames stores I visited when they were open were both previously Hills locations.

Vaporman87 wrote :

VillechaizeLove wrote :


I never really cared for Ames, tbh. I think it's because the one that was close to my old house was super dirty and always smelled like pee x_x I'm sure that if we went to a different one I'd have better memories, lol. -end quote

Actually, I kinda feel the same way. Ames reminded me of a larger scale Big Lots. I think it was even worse than today's K-Marts are, as far as overall condition of the buildings they inhabited, cleanliness, and decor/signage. Which is odd, considering that both local Ames stores I visited when they were open were both previously Hills locations.
-end quote

K-Marts are pretty darn bad these days; Big Lots too!. There's maybe three left slightly close to us, and they're always understaffed and not in the best shape. The Ames we went to here was a former Hills also! (And yeah, the Hills was always surprisingly clean... it's like everyone stopped caring suddenly)

VillechaizeLove wrote :

I never really cared for Ames, tbh. I think it's because the one that was close to my old house was super dirty and always smelled like pee x_x I'm sure that if we went to a different one I'd have better memories, lol. -end quote

Ewwwwww. Ain't nobody wanna shop in a store that smells like pee. Honestly I'm just sick of Wal-Mart these days and would love it if we had a better selection of places to shop at around here.