F.W. Woolworth and the American five and dime : a social history / by Jean Maddern Pitrone.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pitrone, Jean Maddern, 1920-2008.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

F.W. Woolworth Company--History.

F.W. Woolworth Company.

History.

Physical Description:

vii, 221 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm

Other Title:

FW Woolworth and the American five and dime

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Company, Inc., [2003]

Summary:

This work is a full account of the Woolworth chain, its rags-to-riches founder, Frank W. Woolworth, and his flamboyant and tragic descendants. It traces the important role that Woolworth stores played in the sit-down strikes of the 1930s, the lunch counter sit-ins that began in Greensboro, North Carolina, as part of the Civil Rights movement, and the gradual disintegration of the five and tens during the 1980s and early 1990s. The dramatic story is enhanced with important photos featuring such events as the closing of a Woolworth's in Germany by Nazi soldiers and the Greensboro sit-in.

Contents:

1. The Worst Time of His Life 3

2. "The Great Five" Acquires a Family 10

3. Luxury in the Gay Nineties Bring 21

4. The Big Push Overseas 30

5. World's Tallest

Woolworth Skyscraper 39

6. Heartbreaking Tragedy for the Woolworths 52

7. Multi-millionaire Patriarch Dies 61

8. "Everybody's Store" 71

9. A Grim Decade Begins 83

10. Protests, Demonstrations and Strikes 91

11. Woolworth Hit by Sit-downs 103

12. Marriages, Divorces and a Real War 116

13. Post-war Labor Problems 128

14. Approaching the Billion-dollar Sales Goal 137

15. Sit-ins Challenge Woolworth 152

16. Expansion Becomes the Byword 165

17. Struggles with the Economy 176

18. Ups and Downs of the 1980s 183

19. Nobody's Store 189.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-210) and index.

ISBN:

0786414332

OCLC:

51087963