[Steely Tom]

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

[snoringbear]

I’m guessing that this store was in Arkansas. Anyone know the town?

[Bryanw92]

That’s not a photo from 1962.

[Brandonmark]

Rogers, Arkansas

[shove_it]

Upscale competition ...

[shove_it]

Are those 1962 mini-vans parked outside?

[Bryanw92]

http://freshneasybuzz.blogspot.com/2011/06/back-to-future-at-walmart-stores.html

[fatnotlazy]

Five and dime stores were big at one time. I remember several in my area. We had Kresge's (the forerunner of Kmart), Woolworth's and G.C. Murphy's. Other discounters such as Hills and Zayres came along later. All gone now.

[Brandonmark]

Sam Walton opened his 5&10 on the Bentonville town square in 1950

Source: History of Walmart

[real saxophonist]

When I worked at walmart, they bragged that the only entity with a bigger computer system was the U.S. government.

I haven't set foot in a walmart in over 5 years.

[TomGuy]

My local Walmart is store #4.

The recent Walmart Neighborhood Market that opened last fall is store #6960.

Sam and his wife were the clerks in that store. Sam was always friends. Helen, not so much.

My folks used to go to Bentonville (county seat) to assess property in the spring and pay taxes in the fall in the late 50s and early 60s.

[Moonman62]

Sam Walton, a smart religious man who married well.

[Last Dakotan]

Wal-Mart owes its success primarily to the fact that they were the first chain to source Asia for cheaper goods in a large way. Secondarily, they learned to handle logistics well.

End result you have a nation with billion dollar trade deficits and a dwindling middle class.

[Mercat]

My special cousin has worked at a Wal-Mart for probably 40 years. He’ll retire soon with a pension. Proud of him and I’m happy to take my trade to Wal-Mart. One fun memory, my then best friend and I drove an RV around western Kansas while Mr. Mercat road his bike with 1000 of his best friends. She hated Wal-Mart and would refuse to go into one. However, she also drank soy milk. Guess the only place in Western Kansas where you can buy soy milk. LOL. I confess I did rejoice in her apostasy.

[Larry Lucido]

Probably not the first, but definitely an early "K-Mart." I remember having an S.S. Kresge store near us growing up.

[Larry Lucido]

Possibly the first Kroger store. Now the largest grocery chain and second largest retailer behind Wal-Mart in the U.S.

[RKBA Democrat]

I guess it begs the questions:

-is the store out of stock on 15-20% of its merchandise?
-does it have any employees that speak english?
-do the checkout lines take at least 20 minutes to navigate?
-is the store cleanliness reminiscent of an open market in pakistan?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[BluH2o]

Traveled to north western Arkansas a few years back from Cincinnati. I’ve been in this store (now a museum) ... also read the book on Sam Walton. Interesting story ...

[zzwhale]

the wonder of laundering cocaine money... Arkansas Development Bank....Mena ....

[The_Republic_Of_Maine]

You cannot score if you don’t take the shot.