Yesteryear Grocery Shopping & True Value Trading Stamps

[paul]

Ah, the memories of childhood the attached photos bring to mind! The 1967 trading stamp catalog photos I found first got me in a retro grocery shopping photo "spree".

Among the half-dozen or so chain grocery stores in our midwestern US city were Red Owl and Piggly Wiggly. Those are memorable trips along with shopping at the locally-owned Jack and Jill Food Center and Mueller's Superway that was a special treat because of the free coffee table in the back corner by the deli; no, we children weren't coffee drinkers, but we sure enjoyed snitching sugar cubes supplied with the coffee! The Lewis Eastgate drugstore next door had a hot dog counter where my dad sometimes treated us on Saturday shopping days. Most of the time, though, we wen grocery shopping in our nice clothes after church on Sundays.

I also remember the numbered lanterns or globes marking the checkouts; although our fixtures were monochrome or faux wood compared to the store in one of the photos with pink, aqua, and yellow ones.

There were too many photos for one post, so look for another with just photos from a 1969 True Value catalog, which include some electric surface care appliances and other household gift possibilities.

Catalog pages from Laura's Last Ditch at www.etsy.com/shop/lauraslastditch

Other photos goretro.com and boredpanda.com

Enjoy!

 

[human]

S&H Green Stamps

I don't remember Top Value stamps, but several supermarkets and gas stations we went to offered S&H Green Stamps. I remember pasting the stamps into the redemption booklets, but oddly enough, I have only one vague memory of ever going to the Green Stamps store to redeem them for anything. All I really remember is standing in line for what seemed like an eternity to make the transaction at a very tall counter. I don't remember what we actually got for the stamps.

In the early 2000s, there was a supermarket chain in this area, Lowe's Foods (no relation to the hardware store, although they were started by branches of the same family), which briefly offered S&H Greenpoints, tied to their shopper loyalty card. There were no physical stamps. The points balance just showed up on your receipt. You could supposedly stock up massive amounts of points and redeem them for stuff from the S&H catalog, but I only ever redeemed them for free grocery items in the store. that issued them. The promo only lasted for a couple of years and then disappeared as quickly as it began.

 

[paul]

We had not only True Value, but S & H & Gold Bond stamps. My parents always redeemed the books on their own or maybe with my older sisters, so all I recall are licking and putting the stamps in the booklets, which were kept in a drawer in our kitchen.

I was unaware that S & H stamps made a brief comeback. It seems to me that trading stamps went out some time in the 1980s the first time.

 

[suckolux]

We had s&h green stamps and blue chip stamps here,in stores and gas stations. I remember a lot of licking and sticking in the books! Catalogs to shop which told how many books to acquire the items. I still have many which we received after redeeming the books. Took months to save enough for much of anything! I remember where the blue chip store was but I can't remember the s&h center.

 

[justjunque]

Same here, David. I remember helping Mom fill the books with green stamps, but I have no idea what we redeemed them for.

 

[suckolux]

Cool Barry! I remember we got TV trays,huge pulled glass ashtray, canister set and bread box. Can't remember much else, I don't have the trays anymore.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Trading stamps

We had both S&H Green Stamps and Blue Chip Stamps. Blue was the larger of the two. Funny I remember mom having a bowl of water with a sponge soaked to use to moisten the back of a page of stamps to then paste into the book. Later they came out with a wider stamp to use for a whole page instead of a sheet of stamps.

Mom used to fill the books and give them out as gifts to us kids mostly. The first item I redeemed my stamps for was the all new Kodak Instamatic Camera that used flash cubes for lighting. Also bought a 3-pak of extra flash cubes.

I remember certain cigarette brands also had their own coupon program. Raleigh cigarettes was one brand, you got one coupon per pack. Shell and Union 76 gas stations gave out steak knives with every fill up. They don't dare do that anymore! Boy have times changed.

 

[hygiene903]

Yes, I remember Top Value Stamps and S & H Green Stamps! And here in Ohio, we also had Buckeye Stamps which were exclusive to the Big Bear Grocery Stores, and Plaid Stamps, which either came from A & P or Alber's, don't remember which one.

 

[Alan]

Mom received S&H Green Stamps. I've licked many a stamp and then went to the store with her to redeem them. And she even received some Top Value stamps, but not so many as green stamps.

 

[Eureka1458A]

I don’t remember Top Value stamps but there are still several Piggly Wiggly grocery stores in Eastern North Carolina. In the Raleigh area, Lowe’s Foods is a fairly popular chain that I would say is mid upper tier between Food Lion and Harris Teeter.

 

[hygiene903]

Paul, I love that Toro Whirlwind mower in the last of the pics you posted here! When I was growing up one of my best friend's parents had one just like it! What a joy to mow with! Liked it almost as much as the Lawn-Boys on the same era!