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Miller's
5 & 10 cent
store was
opened in
Sabina on
October 12,
1940. Prior to
moving to
Sabina, Max and
Ann Miller
operated a
variety store
in Hillsboro
for Ann's
uncle. Ann's
uncle loaned
them the money
to make the
move to Sabina
but the
agreement was
that they must
buy all their
merchandise
from him. And
they did, until
his death in
the early
1960s. Max then
bought from
suppliers in
Dayton,
Cincinnati and
Columbus.
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The
first Miller's store was
located on the west side
of North Howard Street
about a half block from
Elm Street. The room
they moved into was the
former Spurgeon's Drug
Store. At that time,
Foster's Department
Store was located at 50
N. Howard Street about a
block from Washington
Street. Foster's had
been in Sabina since
1927 and was looking for
more space for their
merchandise and to
modernize. In 1944 when
Henry Lewellen and his
son Aaron, who owned the
furniture store across
the street from
Foster's, decided to get
out of the furniture
business, Gavin Foster
purchased their building
and moved his business
into their larger room.
Max and Ann Miller then
moved into the Foster's
Dept. Store vacancy.
When
Max and Ann moved to
Sabina their only child
Connie was seven years
old. In 1945, about the
time the couple made the
move from one store
location to the other,
they had a son Larry.
Larry has recollections
of the store as it was
when he was growing up.
Sadly, Connie passed
away in October of 2006.
As
with many retail stores,
the big sales days were
Christmas, Valentines
Day, Easter and
Halloween. For Easter
sales Max and Ann filled
Easter baskets, making
each one different, even
though they had several
baskets to fill for the
annual Easter egg hunt.
To assemble the baskets
they sat at a special
table in the back of the
store, filling them with
chocolate eggs and soft
toy chicks, then
wrapping the basket in
colored or clear
cellophane. They stored
them until the Saturday
before Easter when
customers came in to
buy. Sometimes on
Saturday afternoon,
someone would come in in
a panic needing two
extra baskets because
more kids than expected
showed up for the Easter
egg hunt. As a child,
Larry was extremely
proud that his parents
were selected to make
the baskets.
Christmas
was also a special time
at the store. Sales were
at a high volume but
there were a lot of
layaways, usually toys,
placed weeks ahead of
the holiday. Six o'clock
was the scheduled time
to close on Christmas
Eve but it was usually 9
or 10 pm before the
doors actually closed.
About 7 pm Max or Ann
would begin calling the
customers who had made a
layaway. They didn't
want the children to be
without a present. Some
of the parents would
reply, regrettably, that
they didn't have the
money and wouldn't be
able to pick up the
layaway. Max would tell
them to come pick up the
toys or if they couldn't
he would deliver and
they could pay whenever
they had the money.
Sometimes the parents
would pay and sometimes
not, but they always got
their layaways.
When
he grew old enough to
help his father, Larry
and Max would assemble
the toys that came in
assorted sizes and
shapes. When Max got
through putting a toy
together, inevitably
there were parts left
over. He would turn to
Larry and ask, "Why?"
Larry would give the
typical answer, "Just
extra parts, Dad." Max
would then take a brown
paper candy bag, drop
the extra parts in,
write "unnecessary
parts" on the bag and
attach it to the toy. In
those days, parents
expected toys to be
assembled at the time of
purchase.
While
the toys were displayed
at the back of the
store, the candy was in
the front - the
eye-catcher as the
customers walked in.
There we're all
varieties of candies -
chocolates, hard
candies, soft candies,
candy cigarettes, wax
pop bottles, jaw
breakers and bubble gum
-all delicious. The
children would take an
inordinate amount of
time selecting their
pennies worth of candy.
Max or Ann, whichever
one waited on them,
never got impatient with
them no matter how tired
they were from standing
on their feet for so
many hours.
Some
of the adults who had a
sweet tooth and liked to
satisfy it with good
candy would be there
when Max filled the
candy containers with a
fresh supply. Next to
the candy counter was a
cash register that
accepted sales to five
dollars only. In the
early days of the store
being open, five dollars
worth of candy was a
huge amount. When Larry
was a boy he had his eye
on a nice scooter that
was for sale. While it
was still in the storage
area at the back of the
store, Larry managed to
move it from place to
place, always out of
sight from his father,
so that he wouldn't sell
it. To this day, Larry
suspects that Max knew
exactly where the
scooter was at all
times. But be didn't
sell it.
As
a kid Larry was
fascinated by the cases
of fly paper in the back
of the store. Fly paper
can not be found in this
day of chemical sprays,
but years ago it was a
harmless way (at least
to human beings) of
getting rid of flies.
Fly paper came in a tube
and when the tube was
unfurled the paper, with
a sticky substance on
it, attracted flies. The
fly that stuck to the
paper couldn't get loose
and eventually died.
When the sticky paper
was filled with dead
flies it was disposed of
and a new one hung up.
Max had on hand fifty
cases of fly paper, each
case containing 250 to
500 tubes. If ever there
was a dire need for fly
paper, Max was prepared
for the booming sales to
come.
The
store was open until 10
pm six days a week; that
is until Larry began
playing basketball. Then
they closed at 9 pm so
that Max and Ann could
attend the home games
and watch Larry play.
The games were always
sold out, so his parents
were forced to stand
along the wall at the
non-stage end of the
gymnasium.
Max
liked to watch baseball,
as well as basketball.
Every baseball season he
would take a car load of
boys to see a Cincinnati
Reds game. It was a
great occasion for the
boys, some of whom still
have fond memories of
their outing with Max.
When
Jean DuFau (Hudson) and
Janie Grimsley (Baity)
were freshmen they
worked at Miller's 5
& 10. As with other
employees, they were
expected to clean, keep
the merchandise in its
proper place and wait on
customers. Jean and
Janie had a lot of
spirit for young
teenagers and would
tease Max about their
need for a raise. Their
approach was, "If we
don't get a raise we'll
go work for Cecil's 5
& 10."
During
her high school years,
Connie worked in the
store when she was
needed, but she wasn't
fond of being there.
Larry didn't want to be
there either but as he
got old enough to help
out, one of his jobs was
to sweep the store once
a week. He used a
sweeping compound that
looked like sticky
sawdust, which he
sprinkled around the
wood floors to keep the
dust down while he was
sweeping. He also helped
put up and take down
seasonal or holiday
displays and signs in
the store.
Ann
made sure there was a
large supply of dolls
and doll accessories on
display. She kept the
Madam Alexandra dolls in
stock, which was a good
move as they became
collector's items and
were much in demand for
several years.
Max
was able to get the
Greyhound bus franchise,
which allowed the bus to
stop in front of the
store to pick up and
unload passengers as
well as packages every
day. However, when
Interstate 71 opened up,
the Greyhound buses were
discontinued on the
state highways and
Millers lost their
franchise.
Before
Larry was of age to
drive a car, he went
with Max in the station
wagon to buy supplies at
Dayton, Cincinnati and
Columbus. Max taught him
to drive and let him
drive on the trips to
the city.
In
the late 1950s and early
1960s, Louise Dawson
worked at Miller's store
and from 1974 to 1984
her daughter Betty
Newman worked there.
There were many things
to do besides wait on
customers. Betty and her
co-worker Marjorie
Bernard painted walls,
rearranged items and
changed window displays.
Betty, Marjorie and Max
traveled to Cincinnati
to Zuschman's Warehouse
for supplies. Betty
would drive when they
went to Cincinnati and
Marjorie would drive
when they went to
Columbus to buy toys.
Both of the women liked
to drive Max's big
Chrysler.
Ann
died in 1980 and Max
continued with the
store, difficult as it
was without his partner.
One thing that he
enjoyed doing away from
the store was bowling.
Betty and Marjorie
encouraged him to
continue but in October
of 1984, while he was in
his second game at the
bowling alley he
suffered a massive heart
attack and died.
Orders
were cancelled and a
sign put on the door
that the store was
closed. Miller's 5 &
10 cent store was a
significant part of an
era when Sabina
residents shopped in
Sabina. For the most
part the variety store
is gone forever, but the
Miller family will be
remembered for their
hard work, integrity and
service to the
community.
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