Stories to Tell

Stories to Tell contains random - crazy - often inaccurate [but real-to-me] memories I want to record for my scrapbooks. I'd love to hear how these might prompt some of your own memories-

Green Stamps:

I have vague and random memories of green stamps – how many of you collected them in your household too? When we would do our bi-weekly grocery shopping at the Liberty Grocery Store [which always began with dinner out – a treat for us--- at Southland] my mom would receive a certain number of green stamps depending on how much we’d spent on the groceries. [Sometimes we’d get the big yellow ones that were ‘worth’ more.]

After we got home and the groceries were put away [my job was to put all the canned goods in the bottom cabinet], I’d plead for the chance to put the stamps in the little books where they were collected. Each page held, maybe 50 stamps [but again the yellow ones took up more space] and once the books were filled we’d go to the Green Stamp Store to redeem them. I have memories of looking through the Green Stamp Catalog, but I can’t remember what it held – small appliances? Toys? I’m just not sure. But I do know it was a treat to look through and dream of how the stamps might be used.

I have a [very] vague memory of a Green Stamp Store over in Sheffield, but during a recent visit to the Shoals Craig and were driving around Florence and reminiscing – and came upon the old Seven Points Shopping Center and he vividly remembered the Green Stamp Store there – and I can also remember visiting it – was it the only one, or was it larger than the other store that I recall?

Random memories of simpler times… did any of you ever send off the tops of cereal boxes for a treat? I could ramble on about that too, but I’ll end with sharing the best thing I ever got with cereal box tops: a print of horses running in a storm, larger than 18x24, and still framed, and in my attic today – fun.