Sunday, Oct. 20, marked the end of an era for Kmart when it closed its last store in the contiguous United States. Located in Bridgehampton, N.Y., this was the company’s last full-sized store. Once America’s dominant discount retailer, Kmart opened its first store in Garden City, Mich., in 1962.
This came as no surprise to me because I’ve been aware of Kmart stores closing all over the U.S. for a number of years. Still, it made me reminisce about Kmart and other long-gone big-box stores I have shopped at over the years including Zayre’s, Ames, Jamesway, Hills and Salamanca’s beloved Fisher’s Big Wheel.
As of 2013, Big Wheel was Salamanca’s largest retail store. Owned by Joe and Mary Ellen Giblin in its day, Joe managed the store on Broad Street for more than 17 years, from 1976 to 1994. The store was a favorite place of mine to shop for just about anything from toys and clothes for my kids to household items and clothing for myself. To this day, I still use some towels purchased from Big Wheel and my television sits on the TV stand I bought at the store many years ago.
