The old folks cried and shook their heads in grief,

as the key turned the lock in the door on Main Street.

The same key that unlocked for so many years

A world filled with pleasures and joys free from care

Shelves filled with toys, trinkets, and games

Knick knacks, oddities, and dolls with no names,

Where shoppers would look and dream for a while,

and covet the treasures displayed on each aisle.

Paints for the artist, glue guns for crafts,

Pens for the architect, files that would collapse,

Papers for the writers, ribbons for the typist

Anything you could want would be there for you to find it.

Good conversation with ladies that worked there

A smile, then a laugh, as a joke some would dare.

No, I never realized the power in one little key

That could lock forever a whole world eternally.

And never again unlock the door in that same way.

Wilson’s Five and Dime, closed forever, today.     

Cecile L. Wilson  © 6-8-2004

* Note, for forty or more years, two brothers owned and operated the Wilson's Five and Dime. They stocked anything and everything that your heart could desire. It was a true heaven to all the artist and crafts people. However, the inevitable took place....they grew old, and well past retirement age...they finally called it quits. It is indeed sad to see it be no more. This is for those two men who dedicated their lives to making our own a little richer, and to my wife for documenting this bit of history.

 Allen