Many people only know Branson, Missouri as a sort of family-friendly combination of Las Vegas and Nashville. Its streets are lined with neon advertisements for theatres dedicated to individual performers, guided tours, restaurants, and tourist shops. That's the town east of US Highway 65.

On the east side of Branson, there's a quaint old town with stores and homey restaurants. On East Main Street between Business 65 and Commercial Street is a classic main street straight out of the 1950s and 1960s. Stores offer friendly service and low-priced Branson merchandise at half the price that you would pay in the neon stores on the other side of town.

Dick's 5 & 10 is a classic example of the five and dime store. Five and dime stores, for those of you who don't know, are a type of shop started in the old West as the local general store. They were usually owned by a local person who lived upstairs. They sold fabric, toys, candy by the pound (weight not the currency) or ounce, cologne, some clothing, a little bit of baby stuff, some hardware¹, but mostly they provided daily items used in the home except for food.

They were fun places to go after school and shop. We would buy candy and look through the magazines and newest make-up items. When my Mom worked at Sprouse Reitz in the 60s, they gave real customer service (which we resented because we felt like they were watching us to make sure we didn't steal anything), nowadays you can't find anyone to ask when you need help! Anyhow, the store manager (they didn't live upstairs by the 1960s) had his office upstairs in the balcony with a big sliding window where he could watch both employees and customers.

Dicks 5 & 10 is chock full of interesting items. It has everything from hardware, to clothes, to kitchen utensils. Many of the items for sale here look like they could be sold for much more in antique shops. As you walk through the store you will see things for sale that you'll remember from your grandmother's kitchen. Throughout the store, prints of WWII battle scenes hang from the ceiling.

Dick's 5 & 10 is very reminiscent of the five and dimes from the 1960s, however this could have something to do with the fact they have things on sale that originally went on sale in the 1960s! It is more crowded than it would have been then though because the aisles are narrow, and this in turn is because they have so many items to display. Due to the 60s stock plus all the other items that have been added over the years. The store is about the size of today's dollar stores. It's really a great place to browse around.

Branson is a wonderful place to visit. Silver Dollar City is a great amusement park. The strip has a lot of shows. Still, a trip to Branson wouldn't be complete without visiting this quaint old part of town and the last of the five and dime stores.