ozarks
roots
the people, places and traditions that make the ozarks home Photos by Kevin Thomas
Something for Everyone By Kevin Thomas
Dick’s 5 & 10 has offered customers a unique experience and unique merchandise for 60 years
There are many reasons why Branson, Mo., became a favorite destination for those seeking getaways for family fun and traditionally wholesome entertainment, but for the past 60 years none is more iconic, compelling or unique than the experience at Dick’s 5 & 10. The origins of Dick’s 5 & 10, didn’t just start in 1961, observed Steve Hartley, current co-owner and son of Dick’s 5 & 10 founder Dick Hartley, explained. Beginning with the Saad Brothers, whose store eventually became a Ben Franklin’s, there has been a 5 & 10 in the same location at 103 W. Main Street for nearly 100 years. Steve said his father went to work for S.S. Kresge Company in downtown Chicago, after he returned from World War II. The elder Hartley eventually left Kresge and went to work as a manager for the TG&Y company. But when TG&Y changed operating hours to remain open on Sundays. “(Dick) decided that if I’m going to be open on Sunday’s I’m going to be open for myself,” Steve said. Thusly motivated, Dick and his wife June looked at numerous Midwestern locations and finally determined to locate their new venture in Branson near their hometown of Springfield, Mo. “They landed in Branson because it was a good place to raise a family,” Steve said. They also foresaw that the growing tourism business in Branson offered additional and unique opportunities other regional communities did not. So it was that on July 14, 1961 Dick’s 5 & 10 formally opened in a 1,500-square foot building a few block from its current location. As the only employee for several years, Dick did everything from
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sales to cabinetry, constructing many of the original display counters are still in use nearly 60 years later. Always looking for new and unique offerings to provide to his customers Dick began accumulating a series of extraordinary collections to which Dick’s 5 & 10 continues to add items as they come across appropriate pieces. The first collection Dick acquired was the product of efforts over 40 years by long-time Branson barber Carl Taylor. Carl was an avid collector of artifacts
Dick’s 5 & 10 is celebrating 60 years in Branson, Mo., this month. Co-owner Steve Hartley (pictured above and at left, son of the store’s founder, said the Candy Emporium is his favorite spot in the store. At left, Steve is pictured with Dick’s 5 & 10 Marketing Director Donna Knulty.
from across the White River Basin, and the senior Hartley was able to procure a collection of Native American arrowheads that remain on display and formed the basis for gathering numerous other collections that the current owners continue to develop in the footsteps of their founder. In addition to Native American artifacts, there is a Baseball Wall of Fame
that includes an impressive array of autographed pictures and prints. “Short of Cooperstown (NY Baseball Hall of Fame) there’s not a better collection of signed memorabilia of the pioneers of our game,” Steve confidently claimed. There are the expansive collections of model planes and trains (the Dick’s 5 & 10 Express actually runs on tracks around the store above the
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displays), more than 100 World War II aviation prints, many of which are signed by the actual pilots and crews of those aircraft, as well as cap guns, green handled kitchen utensils and a working Wurlitzer jukebox festooned with bubble lights. “It’s all about the experience,” Steve said of the rationale for continuing the traditions his father established. And JULY 19, 2021
