From the 1930s through the 1970s, two retail “variety” stores were very popular in the islands: S.H. Kress and F.W. Woolworth. They were known as five-and-dime stores, as most of the items they sold were inexpensive. They sold dry goods, clothing, groceries, toys, bedding, hardware and other goods. They also had food that many still remember today.

S.H. (Samuel Henry) Kress founded his chain in 1896 in Memphis, Tenn. Its first store in Hawaii, on Fort Street near Pauahi Street, opened in 1931. It also had stores in Wahiawa, Waianae, Kaimuki, Moanalua, Kalihi Shopping Center, Kam Shopping Center, Kailua, Kaneohe, Hilo, Wailuku and Lihue.

F.W. (Frank Winfield) Woolworth opened his first store in 1879 in Utica, N.Y. In 1954 its first store in Hawaii opened at Fort and Hotel streets where Ross Dress for Less is now. Woolworth also had stores at Ala Moana Center, Kahala Mall, Waikiki, Mililani, Waianae, Pearl City, Waimanalo and Maui.

I asked readers what they remembered about them.

Yo-yo tricks

Hiroshi Kato thinks Kress was the first mainland store on Maui. “In the early 1950s it would bring in a yo-yo expert from the mainland, and after teaching yo-yo tricks to the local kids at the store, he would hold a contest in the Iao Theater.

“Another bonus for the kids was having him carve their initials on their yo-yos after buying them from the Kress store. My friend, Francis Yuhara, was very proud of his yo-yo with his initials ‘FY’ carved on it.”

Rodney Anzai said: “Barney Akers was the yo-yo instructor from the mainland in the 1950s. I was a Duncan Yo-Yo Eagle & Junior instructor that helped Barney Akers in his promotion and demonstration of the Duncan yo-yo at Woolworth’s on Oahu.”

My research assistant, Steve Miura, found that Hawaii’s First Statewide Yo-Yo Tournament was sponsored by The Duncan Toys Co. in March 1962. It was held at the KONA television studio (now called KHON2), Miura found.

The judge for this event was former National Yo-Yo Champion Barney Akers. The emcee was Sheriff Ken Alford. The Oahu champion had to face the champions of Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island. Each had to do 10 tricks.

The winner of the tournament was 12-year-old Nelson Oasay from Ewa Beach. He won a trip for two to Disneyland for the U.S. championships. Richard Lee of Memphis, Tenn., became the 1962 U.S. yo-yo champ and won $50,000 (in 2024 dollars).

Listening booth

Arnold Lum remembered, “In the late 1950s Kress had a demo record booth. You could select a 45-rpm record and listen to it in the booth.”

The 45-rpm (revolutions per minute) phonograph record had one song on each side. It was 7 inches in diameter and sometimes called a single. The format was often used in jukeboxes, a coin-­operated music playing device.

The artist’s best or “hit” song would be on the “A” side. The “B” side was for a song expected to be less popular. Disc jockeys at radio stations sometimes played the B side and found the listening public sometimes liked it better.

Lum continued: “My classmate Fred Lunt (the premier lap steel player during the Hawaiian Renaissance in the 1970s) discovered that we could listen to the latest 45s for free.

“So, after school we took the bus downtown and headed to Kress. Fred had a great ear for music. He selected doo-wop songs, including ‘In the Still of the Night’ by the Five Satins, and we’d cram into the demo record booth.

“Eventually, the salesclerks figured out what we were up to: listen for free, no buy, then scram. One afternoon we found we were barred from the record booth unless one of us purchased a record from Kress.

“Life is cruel when you’re a kid,” Lum concluded.

Green River and popcorn

“I remember the Kress store on Fort Street in downtown Honolulu,” Ethel Fleming said. “Fort Street was where folks shopped prior to Ala Moana Center opening in 1959. Downtown was the ‘shopping center’ then.

“During the late 1940s my mom would give my sister and me a treat after shopping: a Green River soda and a package of sweet red and green popcorn!

“Whenever I walk on Fort Street in that former Kress area, I have flashbacks. When I see this type of popcorn nowadays, if I can even find it, the colors and flavor are not as intense as in the ‘old days.’”

Ham waffles

Donald Fukumoto remembers that Woolworth’s on the corner of Fort and Hotel streets had a cafeteria inside the store with a horseshoe­-shaped counter with 81 stools. It served hot lunches, fountain items, sandwiches, cakes and pies.

“My mom’s office was two doors down in the Boston Building. Ming’s Jewelry was nearby.

“We used to eat breakfast at Woolworth’s, and my favorite dish was ‘ham waffles.’ They use to put a thin slice of ham inside the waffle. It was so good. I haven’t found anyone who makes it today.

“To me it was unique to that time as was the waffle hot dog at K.C. Drive Inn.”

Hot date

Steve Okamoto said: “Back in 1965 we used to take our dates to Woolworth’s in Kahala Mall. They had a sit-down restaurant. We used to order the open-faced roast beef or roast pork sandwiches with gravy all over.

“Then in the late 1980s, I used to take my son to the deli counter where they had okazu and other foods. I used to order the roast beef sandwiches, which they would dip in au jus gravy if you wanted.

“It came with mac salad and a pickle. It was so ono! I miss the old stores like Woolworth’s and Kress.”

Roast beef sandwiches

Alan Okamura said he used to love the roast beef sandwiches at Woolworth’s in Kahala Mall.

“I would always buy an extra one to take home. They were hand-carved and the taste was delicious. I was very sad when Woolworth’s at Kahala closed. I haven’t had anything close to those roast beef sandwiches anywhere on Oahu.”

Lunch counter

Keith Fujita remembers sitting at the counter of Woolworth’s restaurant in downtown Honolulu and ordering his favorite roast beef sandwich for 55 cents. “They also served it steaming hot, open-faced with a scoop of mashed potatoes and gravy.

“My special treat was always a jumbo banana split served in a glass shaped boat with three scoops of ice cream — vanilla, strawberry and chocolate — topped with assorted fruit topping, crushed nuts, whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.”

Closing time?

Chuck Nakagawa remembers Christmas 1960. “Our high school YMCA club was manning one of those Salvation Army kettles in front of Kress. It was a fun activity for a bunch of teenage guys, and the mood was festive.

“We took turns ringing the bell, offering our thank-yous to the donors, etc.

“I took a break and went into the store. There were two phone booths in the back, where I phoned my girlfriend. We chatted quite a while, and I lost track of the time.

“When I was finished, I walked out into the store and nobody was around. Halfway to the front doors, I encountered a security guard. He asked, ‘Where did you come from?’ ‘The phone booth,’ I told him.

“I hadn’t noticed the store had closed. He questioned me and let me go. Needless to say, they didn’t check the phone booths before closing up the store!”

Epilogue

Kress closed its last store in Hawaii in 1981. The only remnant of its Hawaii presence is the Kress building on Front Street in Hilo.

Woolworth’s closed in 1997 but left a vestige in the sporting goods marketplace called Foot Locker.

Readers, what do you remember about Kress or Woolworth’s?

Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books. Contact him at Sigall@Yahoo.com or sign up for his free email newsletter at RearviewMirrorInsider.com.