Remember when Woolworth's sold burgers and shakes? Fond du Lac saw the rise and fall of dime stores

Daphne Lemke, Fond du Lac Reporter
·4 min read
Main Street Fond du Lac from around 1970, as depicted in Tracy Reinhardt's book "A Nostalgic Trip Down Main Street" for the Fond du Lac Historical Society.
Main Street Fond du Lac from around 1970, as depicted in Tracy Reinhardt's book "A Nostalgic Trip Down Main Street" for the Fond du Lac Historical Society.

FOND DU LAC — Throughout the first half of the 20th century, dime stores reigned supreme, and Fond du Lac was no different when it came to the community's love for Woolworth's.

For a time in the store's history, Coke cost a nickel. Customers could get a birthday card at one counter, pantyhose at another, and then finish their excursion with a milkshake and a club sandwich at the lunch counter, according to Fond du Lac Reporter archives.

The building that housed Fond du Lac's location at 74 S. Main St. was first built in 1890 for J.C. Whittelsey's dry goods business, before F.W. Woolworth Co. combined the dry goods store with its neighbor building to the south in 1907 to create what would be known as Woolworth's Dime Store — or simply Woolworth's — for many years to come.

As a global name, Woolworth's began in 1879 in New York, where the first store was called Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store and marked the beginning of five-and-dime stores for discounted goods, according to the Woolworth Museum.

The Woolworth building, shown here circa 1976 from Ray Thornton, has stood in downtown Fond du Lac since 1890. It was originally built as a dry goods store until F.W. Woolworth Co. moved in as a dime store in 1907.
The Woolworth building, shown here circa 1976 from Ray Thornton, has stood in downtown Fond du Lac since 1890. It was originally built as a dry goods store until F.W. Woolworth Co. moved in as a dime store in 1907.

Fond du Lac's location became a necessity for shoppers, thanks to its convenient downtown spot and range of services. Even beyond the shopping, it was popular with customers young and old for hamburgers, cheesecakes, hot fudge sundaes and ice cream sodas long after its prices rose above nickels and dimes.

A popular draw in its early days was its banana split, and not just for the taste: customers just needed to pop one of the balloons strung above the counter, and whatever price came out of the balloon was the price of the treat — sometimes as low as a penny.

Employees and regulars alike also praised the store during its nearly 90-year run for the sense of community they felt when frequenting the space, where everyone seemed to know each other and enjoyed each other's company.

More: Remember when St. Paul's Cathedral introduced handmade Cathedral Mice? Here's the origin of the 'Mouse Factory.'

Regular customer Ken Quackenboss exits Woolworth's after a cup of coffee in the store's final days in 1993.
Regular customer Ken Quackenboss exits Woolworth's after a cup of coffee in the store's final days in 1993.

Woolworth's lasted in Fond du Lac until 1993, when the company closed down 1,000 of its locations, including Fond du Lac's location and 15 others in Wisconsin, leaving only Milwaukee's store in the Mitchell Park Shopping Center.

The rest of the stores shut down in 1997, though some converted into Footlocker locations.

Fond du Lac's building sat vacant until 2000, when it was remodeled for four businesses to take residence within the next year: rubber stamp and scrapbook supplies store MLP Unlimited, weight loss center Curves for Women, the Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality and Healing, and Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services.

Now, the building is home to Lunar & Lake Book Market, Fox Valley Insurance Group and Hang 10 Poke. The Fond du Lac Center for Spirituality and Healing recently moved out of the building to a new spot at 1020 S. Main St., Suite D, on Jan. 2.

More: Remember when the old post office was on First Street? Here's how mail changed in Fond du Lac.

More history: It happened this week

  • Jan. 6, 1967: National Exchange Bank announced the contractor for its new South Main Street location would be Charles D. Smith & Son — now C.D. Smith — with construction to start later in the month and finish that year. Smith won with a bid of $514,900.

  • Jan. 6, 1973: Northwest Fabrics, "Fond du Lac's newest, largest and finest fabric supermarket," celebrated its grand opening at 221 N. Peters Ave.

  • Jan. 6, 1984: The Fond du Lac School District considered the purchase of the Haentze Floral Co. property on Linden Street, which was at the time adjacent to Goodrich High School. It cited a need for more space for its growing student body, especially regarding physical education. The school board approved the purchase, along with renovations to Goodrich High School and Sabish Middle School, in May of that year.

  • Jan. 3, 1995: Taycheedah Correctional Institution inmates sewed quilts and puppets to benefit abused children in shelters out of empathy with the children who were alone and far from home. The team of women were called Hearts and Hands Quilters, the only quilting circle in a correctional institution that was recognized by the American Quilt Guild.

Remember when ..." is a bi-weekly column from Streetwise Reporter Daphne Lemke that looks back at businesses of Fond du Lac's storied past. Tell her what you'd like to see next by emailing dlemke@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac Woolworth's location had department store, lunch counter