Tozier, Helen

Digital Commons @ Butler University

Dime for the ShowHelen TozierTHE gaudy splendor of a circus enclosed by four walls is theatmosphere that surrounds a dime store. The windows alongthe street are as posters advertising the main attractions to befound within. Headless mannequins attired in cheap cotton dressesor disembodied heads sporting out-dated headgear give the impres-sion that a side show is about to start. When one enters the store,the smell of cotton candy is replaced by the sight of the counter, butthe odor of peanuts roasting is still present, coming from the never-ceasing cooker to be found near the front of the store. Signs on thecounters cry out their wares in the fashion of barkers along the mid-way, while the popular tunes of the day are blared out by an ancientphonograph instead of the traditional band.Just as each performer tries to top the next, the counters are in-dividual "acts" trying to "outshow" and "outsell" each other. Show-manship plays just as important a role in merchandising as it doesin the ring under the big top. Handbags with gloves draped over the /handles lie in scarf-swirled backgrounds. Spools of thread marchin military rows across handkerchief fields. Pliers, hammers, andwire clippers vie for first place on a gleaming glass shelf. Andabove the entire performance fly the banners of the store, table-cloths flaunted on grade A clothesline. All of this entertainment isunder the supervision of the ring master, the manager.The spirit of gaiety catches up with even the most reluctant shop-per as he or she roots madly through the ninety-eight cent hose. Theundernourished children pressing their noses against the alreadystreaked candy bin glass, the impatient customer patting her foot onthe worn wooden floor, and the exhausted clerk anxiously waitingfor the closing bell are all a part of the spectacle. This flashy showhas had a long run and has played to many large audiences. Theperformance is lengthy and is usually a matinee. The weekly "lateshow" is staged at the convenience of the townspeople, for theirattendance is important to its survival. "The greatest show onearth" may be the motto of the circus, but there is even a greatershow everyday in almost every town in our country. That is theshow that goes by the title of "The Dime Store."

Dime for the Show

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Dime for the Show

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