Dime Store Dreams Live On

Dime Store Dreams Live On

Ben Franklin Stores mix nostalgic charm, exceptional service

By Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

Can time really stand still? It seems like it when you step into Ben Franklin stores, those classic dime stores that appeared to be in every small town and offered everything from candy and greeting cards to fabric and farm toys. Yes, a handful of Ben Franklin stores are still left in Iowa, including in Winterset, Sheldon, Nevada and Eagle Grove, and many of these unique businesses have become shopping destinations.

“We have customers who come from 200 miles or more away for monthly or quarterly shopping trips,” says Phil Warnke, who has owned and operated the Ben Franklin store in Sheldon with his wife Lori since 1991. “While we have loyal local customers, about 80% of our business comes from out of town.”

Ben Franklin stores’ mix of nostalgia and modern convenience creates an irresistible combination, especially at the Winterset store, which attracts local shoppers and tourists visiting Madison County. “We often hear people say, ‘I haven’t been in a Ben Franklin in years,’” says Dave Trask, who has owned and operated the store with his wife Judy, a fellow Winterset native, since 1978. “People like Ben Franklin because we have a little bit of everything.”

He’s not kidding. Are you craving a lollypop flavored like a dill pickle or old-fashioned candies like Black Cow chewy chocolate caramels? Want a fabric panel with the FFA logo to make a quilt? Need computer paper or other office supplies? Looking for the perfect toy for your child or grandchild? You can find it all at the Ben Franklin in Winterset. The store offers a wide range of products at affordable prices; much as it has since the Ben Franklin opened on the south side of the square in 1939.

“We’ve served generations of families,” says Judy Trask, who has been married to Dave, her high school sweetheart, for 56 years. “We love the people we meet.”

“We’ve served generations of families. We love the people we meet.” - Judy Trask

Hundreds of Ben Franklin stores once thrived in towns across Iowa. Fortunately, there are still some around, and they are just as great as you remember.

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned

Ben Franklin stores began popping up across America around 1927, becoming a staple on Main Streets, where stores did particularly well in small, rural communities. Named in honor of Benjamin Franklin’s credo, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” Ben Franklin stores’ affordable merchandise and wide selection made them a shopping destination for decades.

During the golden age of American dime-store retailing, the Ben Franklin empire once expanded to more than 2,500 franchised stores that were independently owned. By the 1950s into the 1980s, Iowa was filled with Ben Franklin stores, with one in nearly every county seat town. Ken and Gert Hying of Lake City owned and operated three Ben Franklin stores in western Iowa, including Lake City (starting in 1977), Rockwell City (1979) and Sac City (1990). Even though the stores were close geographically, each had its own product mix.

“Fabric sold better in Rockwell City than Lake City,” Gert Hying recalls. “Fabric and craft items sold even better in Sac City, compared to Rockwell City.”

The secret to providing the right mix of merchandise for each store meant listening to the employees. “They knew what customers wanted to buy, so we gave them a lot of flexibility,” Ken Hying says. “If you think it will sell, buy it, was my advice.”

While Ben Franklin stores thrived in small towns across Iowa and America for years, the rise of shopping malls and larger, modern chain stores ultimately spelled doom for hundreds of Ben Franklin stores.

By the 1990s, more Ben Franklin stores started going out of business nationwide. The Ben Franklin company itself went bankrupt in the mid-1990s. This dramatic transformation went virtually unnoticed in the wider world, although it hurt shoppers in towns that lost Ben Franklin stores. Today, less than 50 Ben Franklin stores are left in America, Phil Warnke notes.

“We ceased being Ben Franklin in 1998,” says Ken Hying, who then leased his family’s stores to the Duckwalls retail chain, which went bankrupt around 2014. The Hyings decided to re-open their dime store in Lake City as the Calhoun County Variety Store in 2011 and ran it until they retired in 2016. “We still have people who tell us how much they miss having a local Ben Franklin store,” Gert Hying says. “We liked being able to provide a useful service to people for all those years.”

Defying the Odds

Service remains a hallmark of Iowa’s remaining Ben Franklin stores. All are locally owned and reflect the spirit of the local community. It is where you go to find items like Iowa postcards, shirts and other items featuring the logo of the local high school, and countless treasures.

So how do these stores, which boast a steady stream of customers of all ages, stay competitive in an era of big-box stores and online shopping? First, they carry useful items that are different from what competitors offer. “A lot of our suppliers are independent businesses that want to sell to other small, independent businesses,” Phil Warnke says.

Iowa’s Ben Franklin stores are bigger than you might expect. The 14,000-square-foot Sheldon store includes plenty of room for a craft and fabric department, housewares, pet products, toys, greeting cards, office supplies, home décor, personal care products, seasonal and gift items, household goods, candy and more.

A separate, spacious part of the store also includes a frame shop. “Working here lets me be creative, which I enjoy,” says Lori Warnke, who frames portraits, sports jerseys, needlepoint projects and more for customers.

Ben Franklin store in Eagle Grove.

Ben Franklin stores in Iowa also offer full service, with plenty of personalized attention from the owners, managers and staff, many of whom are long-time employees. “Since all the management decisions are made here, instead of some corporate office, we listen to our customers and offer the products they want,” adds Phil Warnke, who worked in management for the JC Penney chain for 11 years before purchasing the Ben Franklin store in Sheldon. “If Legos aren’t selling well in the toy department, but Nerf products are, for example, we can adjust our product mix.”

Along with an array of merchandise at their 9,000-square-foot Winterset store, the Trasks provide other handy services, including key-making, photocopying, window-blind cutting and watch battery replacement. “My parents ran Trask Jewelry in Winterset for years, so I picked up a few of those skills,” says Dave Trask, who worked for Kresge’s stores (the forerunner of Kmart discount stores) and became a co-owner of a Ben Franklin store in Fairfield, in the early 1970s before purchasing the Ben Franklin store in Winterset.

The Winterset Ben Franklin has endured, even as other stores in town like Shopko have come and gone, and other competitors like Dollar General have opened. One thing the competition can’t match? The way Ben Franklin store owners are rooted in the area and give back to their local community. The Trasks, for example, helped create the John Wayne Birthplace Museum, and Dave was the voice of the Huskies during high school football games for 24 years.

Phil Warnke is glad that Ben Franklin stores still hold a fond place in many Iowans’ hearts and can continue to serve the local community. “We sell things that are fun to buy.”

Phil and Lori Warnke, owners of the Ben Franklin in Sheldon (below).

Service remains a hallmark of Iowa’s remaining Ben Franklin stores. All are locally owned and reflect the spirit of the local community.