Loved going into Western Auto in the early 70s because they had mini-bikes , go carts and bicycles. Got my purple Western Flyer with banana seat there.
My 1st job was working for Western Auto starting out in 1960. I worked there for two years, made $1.10/hr, changed many tires, batteries and seat covers...without ever having a raise. Then, I quit and went to work at another place for more than twice what I had been making at WA.....even though it required driving 100 miles/day.
1971 20-inch dragster style metallic dark green and white 3-speed with drag slick style tires, white banana seat, and grips. The chain guard was shaped like a flaring flame I've never seen another like it.
Those bicycles came mostly put together except for the handlebars and the foot-pedals.....I uncrated and assembled many of those bicycles in the three years I worked at Western Auto, then 'test rode' them a bit prior to placing them on the floor for sale. The store had a 'lay-away' program...customers would come in, make a payment (sometimes as little as $1) and get a receipt. Seems SO ridiculous now, but this was decades prior to credit cards. I started at $1.10/hr, and when I secured a much higher paying job two years later and quit, I was still making the same $1.10/hr. I can still recall when the Bank of America approached my boss, trying to get him involved in something called a "Bank of America Credit Card" My boss practically threw him out of the store, later telling me, "They want to charge a 6% fee on ALL sales!
In 1957 I turned 5 years old. I remember that for my birthday my dad took me to Western Auto to get me a bicycle for my birthday present. We went over to where the bicycles were displayed and he told me to pick one out. The one I picked was a fully loaded Western Flyer. It had a headlight, horn, streamers in the handlebar grips and a basket. When I turned 16 I had to have a car. I bought a 1957 Chevrolet for $175. It ran okay, but it leaked oil like crazy. I would buy oil at Western Auto by the case. The Western Auto brand oil was 18 cents a quart! I worked part time after school for 4 hours 5 days a week. After taxes my paycheck was $29.95 so I couldn't afford to buy new tires when my tires wore out. I bought 4 recapped tires at Western Auto for $6.99 each. There's no stores around like Western Auto anymore.
I can sure relate to ur story. Nothing as good for a youngster walking into a Western Auto and smelling bicycle tires. There was a little bit better deal on bulk motor oil...... FISK has bulk oil GLASS quarts for 10¢.
@teasea3152 amen fellow parts counter men amen brother's and sisters because women sell parts as well....most people never know how hard we try to be the best and always help our customers and community... myself I don't sell auto parts I HELP CUSTOMERS MAKE EDUCATED DECISIONS ON THE PARTS THEY NEED and it's the only way!!!!!!
i remember in the 60s western auto was the only store around that sold bicycle parts, like tires, bearings, seats & such.nobody else in town carried them.
I had to do a lot of chores around the house in order to afford enough money to buy bicycle parts from Western Auto when I was young! If they were still around, I would still be buying all my bicycle parts there as well as car parts. Those are still some of the best times of my childhood.👍
My grandad owned a small town Western Auto. Was one of the greatest little stores, from tires, guns, hardware, and just about anything else he could pack in and sell. Was such a cool place, I still have knives, rod an reels and guns my grandfather gave me through the years. I can remember around Christmas time, my grandads basement would be full of bicycles my grandfather would put together. Truly an amazing memory.
I loved the one we had in our town. It was ran by a granddad type who was real good to us kids. He would let us roll our bikes right into the store and do repairs at his work station. Had any part you needed for any bike. Or we would just hang out there and watch him do stuff for other customers or he'd tell us stories about the products(especially the guns) or about the town. Great guy. Great store.
And Advance has bought a number of Pep Boys parts departments and converted them to Advance stores-with Pep Boys running the auto service side. {Plus they now have the rights to sell the (formerly Sears) DieHard battery.
I was lucky enough to have worked part-time at a Western Auto when I was just 13 years old in 1976, located in Atascadero California assembling bicycles for the Christmas season. It was a great experience and at a time that was magical and fun that I'll always cherish. Thank you for this video!
Loved watching this. My Dad worked for Western Auto for his entire career. By the early 80s they had over 4,700 stores nationwide. I still have a working Wizard snowblower from the 70s. Great times!
One of my favorite memories of Western Auto was saving up my money to buy my first transistor radio. My older brother would also save up his money to buy one.
In small towns with no other stores western auto had it all...once furniture...auto parts...tire...appliance stores came in western auto was overlooked
Setting aside the dark side reality for those of us that have fond childhood memories of Western Auto, what a wonderful memory jogger and memory lane trip this video is and all the fond personal commentary that follows. Thank you.
I worked for Western Auto as my 1st job right after high school. While the store carried and sold a lot of fishing gear, don't recall selling any guns of any kind....and I bought my guns, along with a well used Saddam Huesien flame-thrower eslewhere. For well over a year, my routine went like this..... Close the store at 5:30 on Saturday, fire up my motorcycle and ride 130 miles to Fresno, CA, to spend some time with a gal I was dating at the time. Then, leave at 5 AM Monday morning to be back in town so I could attend some college classes I was attending at the time. Then, the woman who would become my 1st wife moved in right next door, and all of a sudden, my 'former' girlfriend was 130 miles away. I did marry that woman, but....after 44 years of marriage, she, without breathing a word, ran off with a former friend and I divorced her a year or so later. She recently died....sure did seem mighty strange looking at the woman I had been married to for 44 years lying in her casket. BHE
Our first deep freezer came from Western Auto it was on Main Street in Corbin,KŸ we had it for many years. The store burned down and the city made the site a small park. Miss this store it was a great place to just walk around especially at Christmas time.
I worked for Western Auto for two years in Watsonville, CA, starting in '58 right after graduating from high school. My mother bought one of thier 15 cu ft freezers in '58 and I have NO idea of whatever happened to it. IF you ever watch the movie, "Back to the Future" there is a segment in the early part of the movie which shows a Western Auto store with the old fashioned 'Circle Arrow' displayed...which 'my' store didn't have. There, I changed a lot of tires, auto batteries and seat covers. Startied out $1.10/hr, and when I quit two years later, even although I considered myself to be a much more valuable employee, still made $1.10/hr. They sold a huge amount of bicycles there, and when I wasn't changing auto parts, I was busy assembling bicycles for the "Christmas Rush". My dad ''opended" the door for me, I quit WA and went to work for a place which printed trading stamps..(S&H, Blue Chip, and etc.....Remember those? (What a FAD they turned out to be) A book of 10,000 stamps cost the merchants $100, which was then simply passed on to the customers. For decades, if a store didn't give trading stamps, my mother wouldn't shop there. BHE
@@fulleffort2092 It was one of the leaders of the era....started out selling auto parts, but gradually branched into other areas....TV's, appliences and etc. When I worked there in 58 through 60, I bought a sewing machine which still works and is ''In the family". (of course, at the time, most sewing machines were being made in Japan)
My Dads is from Barbourville. Trosper. My Pappaw worked in the mines in Harlan, where my Dad was born. They moved back in the mid 40’s. Finally settling in Cincinnati in the early 60’s after working in northern Ohio and Detroit.
When dad got a newer car, the first thing he did was put seat covers in it. I think that they had a special one week end. Seat covers for under $20 per seat, front and back, installed. So, there we were one morning early get them installed. Quality time with my dad. Loved it. I wondered the store while waiting for the job to get done.
I remember our small town Western Auto store. I loved going in there with my dad and getting parts. And at Christmas time it was always decorated and Full of toys. I miss those simpler times.
We had a western auto and a gambles store on the same downtown block in the small Nebraska town where I grew up. Things were far better then. I pity kids growing up today. They have no idea what they have missed.
Our small Indiana town had a Gambles and Western Auto too. I remember the smell of new rubber every time you walked into the Western Auto store. The owner was a friendly, helpful guy. I sure do miss those times.
I remember in the late 60's riding my bicycle down to our local Western Auto. I loved going in and paying on my dad's account in the small South Georgia town we lived in. I remember the smell of the tires and the vinyl seat covers as well. Great memories for sure :)
Western Auto was my fathers favorite auto parts store back in the 1950's. He maintained his 1956 Ford Station Wagon by purchasing new parts, tires, batteries, oil filters, engine oil etc. He bought my sisters first bicycle there too. He even bought a 16 gauge shotgun for rabbit hunting there for his beloved weekend hobby of small game hunting in the Fall each year.
I learned about saving money because of Western Auto. Saving for handle grips, banana seats, tires, etc for my bikes. I am so thankful I had this store growing up.
I worked for three years at the Western Auto store in Watsonville, CA, in the late 50's which did a huge business in bicycles. In the summer time, I spent all of my spare time (when I wasn't installing batteries, tires or seat cover on cars) assembling bicycles for the annual Christmas rush. I started out at $1.10/hr, and when I quit three years later for a job which paid twice as much, i was still making $1.10/hr. However, 15 years ago, when I finally retired from work (at the age of 70) I was then making $30/hr. BHE
I remember going to Western Auto in Greenwood, IN when I was young. I have a Model 60 22LR rifle dad bought there. It has Western Auto engraved in the barrel.
My friends and I used to walk two miles, one way, along the RR tracks to the Western Auto store. Why, they would sell .22 shells to us kid, so we could go plinking at the old, abandoned strip mines. Your post jogged old memories. ✌️
Western auto had their own brand name Revelation. My first baseball glove was a Revelation from Western Auto. I had a Western Flyer bicycle when I was a kid also. Living in a small town our Western Auto store had things you couldn’t get anywhere else unless you went to to larger city. The town I grew up in still has a Western Auto store. Although the corporation is likely gone, they still use the Western Auto name. It’s been owned by the same family for decades. They are still a great store to have in our area. I’m over 60 and still buy from them and always will.
This is a well done docu-video, I too owned a western flyer bicycle late sixty early seventys. When going down town to shop in those days, the days when department stores were in high rise building's and depending on your needs you had to go to different floors. Mom would say that maybe we can stop at Western auto if we had time. Every now and then I got a chance to get there, being right on the out skirts of down town and in the opposite direction of going home. As I got old enough to go down town with my friends western auto was always on our list of places to go but never before going to the sporting goods first. Lol Thank you for this.
@@randelldavis578 I bought my first snow shovel here as a kid mid 70s to shovel others sidewalks to make money. I still have it today. Best built shovel I've ever owned or used.
My very first job at 18, right after graduating from high school in '58, was working at a Western Auto store in the Watsonville, CA store, where I worked for over two years. This store did a huge business in bicycles and auto tires. When I wasn't changing auto tires, seat covers or batteries, I was assembling bicycles for the upcoming Christmas rush, which they had a lay-away system for, and sold over 100 bicycles. People would come into the store, make a $1 payment on 'thier' bicycle. I started out at $1.10/hr, and two years later when I moved on to another job, which paid more than twice as much, I was still making $1.10/hr....although I considered myself to be a much more valuable employee. Now, the entire store has long been torn down with an Ace Hardware store now in its former site. BHE
Always went Western Auto with Dad. Small engine repair, appliances, wizard lawn mowers, boating stuff, guns, etc. Super nice man owned the franchise. St.Marys Ga the 80's
My family and kids will never forget Western Auto in Goshen Indiana and the owner Mo. We bought lots of Things for home and auto on time. Was a GREAT place to do business.
Our neighbors owned/ran the Western Auto in town. Always got great service, and their son helped me out once with my car in our garage, I wish I could put that hilarious story here, it would be a bit too long for this forum. But thanks for making it pop-up in my memory 😂😂😂
Shopped at the Fallston, MD store in the 80s and I loved it. I was really into cycling and bought a western flyer racing bike. It was fantastic. Very strong and only weighed 19lbs.
I worked part time at Western Auto's Parts America starting in 1998. I really liked it. I was tested on my automotive knowledge prior to hiring. Fortunately, I'm well versed in cars and it wasn't a problem and I was hired immediately. Almost a year later an uncle that worked for Advance Auto Parts let me know Sears had sold almost all the Western Autos and we'd be an Advance Auto store soon. They were so different. Auto knowledge was not a requirement, they would give needed training for that. That's why most of the parts sales people can't answer much more than their POS computer tells them
Same for me, I was hired in 1998 and I remember having to chance our stores products and inventory to Advance Auto parts. I bought some great craftsman wrenches and a toolbox on clearance prices.
I was 10 in 74 and my mom and dad bought me a little mini bike from Western Auto in Bossier City La my cousin’s came down to visit from Kentucky we would ride that thing every day bout all day long we would walk to the gas station to get gas for it, back then gas was 43 cent’s a gallon. To me those were the good ole days. What fond memories for me
I loved going to Western Auto in the 70s as a kid. I had my trusty western flyer bicycle, ten speed and I remember my mom bout me a green machine big wheel toy there. Miss those times.
04:42 My first bicycle showed up under the Christmas tree from "Santa". It was a red Western Flyer beauty. My world expanded immediately that morning by a full order of magnitude. To this day, that was the greatest single gift I have ever received. I rode that bike for years until it finally turned to dust. I suspect "Santa" was actually my mother and father 😉, who pretended to be as surprised as I was by such a magnificent machine showing up out of the blue in the middle of the night. I'm not sure if, in my later years, I ever thanked them properly. So, I'll do it now...Thank you, Mom and Dad! Miss you both!☺☺☺
I worked for Western Auto/Parts America and then Advance Auto back in the mid 90's and early 2000's, talk about a roller coaster ride during all that! Now I see Advance is starting to close stores nation wide...thanks for posting this and taking me back to memory lane when Darrell Waltrip and Al Hoffman were the faces of Western Auto in Nascar and NHRA.
I grew up in a small town in the 50's and 60's and we had a Western Auto. I loved it. I still have a BB gun that came from there. We bought everything there. Washers and dryers, freezers, refrigerators, bicycles, tires, guns, tires, fishing supplies and our first color television which was a Zenith brand. Oh what fun it was to go to the Western Auto that was owned by Pat and Kathleen Carter. A guy named Max Chamblee worked there and he also drove a school bus. What a great time to grow up in.
One of the iconic Western Auto brands you missed was their "Truetone" line of radios and electronics. For many of us- especially if you lived in a small town- your first radio or TV was a Truetone. Like everything else Western Auto sold, they didn't actually make anything themselves, but rather contracted with larger companies to re-brand their existing products, sometimes with small design changes, to sell exclusively at their own stores and at cheaper prices too. This approach allowed them to decide what kind of product they wanted, then they could ask all the manufacturers what they could offer and choose the lowest-priced one. The actual manufacturer of all their products varied and even the bigger names like Sears, JC Penny's, and Montgomery-Ward used this same approach. Where Western Auto varied with the others is that their main product lines were always good quality- they refused to sell junk except for some of their lowest-cost products which didn't carry any of their own branding. We can be wistful looking back knowing how important much of the past was to us in a personal way, understanding that none of those born too late to experience it will ever understand what a joy it was to do go shopping at places like Western Auto in person instead of seeing a plethora of images on a screen, wondering if we will get what we think we're seeing when it arrives at our doorstep. We have far more choices now and far lower prices but they joy and excitement and the personal touch is gone forever with fewer and fewer people knowing what was lost and it's value. I still try to shop locally and to support the smaller business and companies and encourage you to do the same.
My first bike was a western flyer we lived 15 miles west of town it was always a treat to go to western auto as a kid,if they were open today I would trade there.
Western Auto had a nice Christmas display, helped you feel the season. As newlyweds, we bought our first refrigerator , a Wizard auto-defrost 2 door, for $206.00. It lasted 20 years.
The western auto in my town was a gun shop that sold car parts and bikes. First hand gun and shotgun I ever owned came from there. Everyone sold guns back in the day.
I bought my first car in the 70s, it was a 1957 Chevrolet Belair. The first new set of tires I bought for it was from the Western Auto store located on the corner of Baseline and Geyer Springs Road in Little Rock, Arkansas. I think I have a couple of wizard tillers and a mini bike frame still today. Yard art now. Cool video.
In the 60's,my Dad was a firefighter and had a part time job at Western Auto on his off days from the fire station. I had two Western Flyer bikes. Loved the bicycle parts shelves. We had a few appliances find their way home also.
Western Auto bicycles are still very usable today. I have a ten speed that I purchased new in 1976 it still operates just as it did when purchased back in the day.
Grew up with one in Addison Illinois in Green Meadows shopping center. Can remember going there with my father almost weekly. He would buy tools, spray paint, my older sister had a Western Flyer bike.
The last one in our town was owned by some fella that when we went in, he'd follow you everywhere you went. He was the definition of a dork. But his 2 daughters were just drop dead gorgeous. I can never think of that store without thinking of the girls
Was a general store where we lived in Shafter Ca. Got a lot of our Christmas presents from there. I still have moms ring she bought from there back in the early 70’s
I remember they had a few toys like pressed steel trucks and cars i admired them on the shelf never getting one. In my 60's now and i collect Western Auto items mostly toys. Fantastic video Thank you 😊
I was born in June 1961. My very first bicycle came from Western Auto. I received it for Christmas 1969, I was 8 years old. It was the best bicycle ever! It had a sparkle blue paint job with pin stripes, a banana seat, butterfly handlebars, and a red stripe on the tires. I loved that bike and Western Auto. There was still a store open in 2013 in my old hometown in Arkansas. It was hit by a bad tornado on Halloween 2013 and was demolished. It never reopened. Sad day.
I bought my first camera, a kodak 110 pocket instamatic, from a Western Auto store. Back then, they were in the old The Drug Store building. It was small and they didn't have a lot. They later moved into the old Wards store and had a garage. Always liked the personal service, often waited on by the owner.
All good things must come to the end. I remember shopping at Western Auto. Great memories, our society today is cold and not personal. Thank you Western Auto.
I miss it...last one here in Rhode Island was in Slatersville...i demoed it to build a new Brooks Pharmacy back in 2003...the floors were asbestos tile too...loved the minibikes and go karts there..
My mom worked at the Mission KS store in the late 60 early 70’s. They also sold the Midland Radios which is a Kansas City Company that is still in business.
Oh, Midland brand! Gosh it's been decades since I've thought of that brand name. A real staple for the electronics my parents, um, Santa sourced and placed under the tree for myself and siblings. Thanks for the memory jogger.
@@stevelange819 I remember my mom telling me that at the time she worked there Beneficial Finance company owned Western Auto. Then store in Mission had Spiegel catalog in the back of the store on the right hand side.
Back in the 60s I remember cutting our the ads for a bike and leave it at my fathers lunch box so he would see it. It never worked. I ended up with a used bike!😢
I used to visit Western Auto down the street from my house as a kid on my bicycle to get bicycle parts, inner tube patches, tires, and tubes. That was in the 60’s in Houston, TX. Love that store.
That’s why I wanted to watch this video. I remember the Store well! I also grew up in Houston, NW side just outside of Loop 610, and with my Dad would visit the store on W 43rd Street, next to Weingarten’s Grocery. Bike parts! It was a cool store.
This was a terrific store, sort of a hardware store and auto supply on steroids. It was way more fun for a kid to wander into than a hobby shop. Bikes, skates, even portable TVs and electric guitars--it was a very cool store with stuff any kid with some sort of job could afford. Their ad flyers were filled with neat stuff; all priced to move. Always smelled like oil and new tires. I miss it.
In the 70's I could get a "brick" of 22 rounds (short, long, or long rifle), bicycle inner tubes, or any other staple of country childhood. What a great place in Lawson Missouri.
We Had A Porch Glider Growing Up Dad And Mom Bought It At The Western Auto Store In Corydon Indiana I Loved It.And Also I Got A Marble The Mustang Toy Horse I Loved Riding It.
I grew up directly behind a shopping center that had a Western Auto. Us neighborhood kids loved this place. We !! Would have too check out the new bicycles! Lets see. I bought a lot of Daisy BB's for my air rifle. Those in the little tube. My first Banana seat for my bike and high rise handle bars. A pair of Tony The Tiger handle had grips yo match the banana seat. Oh, other items to many to mention. I still have one of the handle bar grips on my work bench to remind me of the good old days. Loved this store. 🤗🤗🤗🤗👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲
There was a Western Auto, Otasco, and TG&Y store on the same block in the bigger town we used to go to. I was in hog heaven, my folks would run in the grocery store, and I'd hit all 3 of the stores. All sold firearms, ammo, camping stuff. My Dad had credit at Otasco and Western Auto.
Man I missed them stores along with Otasco, got all my bike repair parts from them , when I got older I bought my first 6x9 Jensen Triax speakers for my 71 Mustang, I was so excited.
Very educational documentary. Really enjoyed it. I'm 48, but I vaguely remember when I was really little, going with my dad to the Western Auto in Liberty, NC where we lived. That would probably have been 1981-1982, somewhere around there. There is still an associate store at 501 East 3rd St. in Siler City, NC, and still has that Western Auto signage on the front of the building. Not the same, but it's still nice to see the Western Auto sign.
Don't forget the 'Truetone' line of electronics! There were Truetone-branded radios, clock radios, televisions, record players, car radios, as well as home and car stereos.
We had a "Local", simular retail store called Benny's , in Southern New England states ..... It had a little bit of "everything" , and they offered tire changes, repairs, and tire balancing, in most locations ..... They closed in 2021 (i believe....) and they are "missed" by many locals !!
My great uncle had a Western Auto and I have a 12ft measuring tape from him. There was all kinds of neat 1950's and 1960's objects I remember from the 80s. Now that I am a mid age gear head I think it would've neat to have WA swag. The store front signs were behind his sheds. There was a box of toys that were supposed to be mine but disappeared. Thank you
Loved going into Western Auto in the early 70s because they had mini-bikes , go carts and bicycles. Got my purple Western Flyer with banana seat there.
My 1st job was working for Western Auto starting out in 1960. I worked there for two years, made $1.10/hr, changed many tires, batteries and seat covers...without ever having a raise. Then, I quit and went to work at another place for more than twice what I had been making at WA.....even though it required driving 100 miles/day.
@Midnightrider1963 I had the same bike,grandma got it for me
1971 20-inch dragster style metallic dark green and white 3-speed with drag slick style tires, white banana seat, and grips. The chain guard was shaped like a flaring flame I've never seen another like it.
Those bicycles came mostly put together except for the handlebars and the foot-pedals.....I uncrated and assembled many of those bicycles in the three years I worked at Western Auto, then 'test rode' them a bit prior to placing them on the floor for sale.
The store had a 'lay-away' program...customers would come in, make a payment (sometimes as little as $1) and get a receipt. Seems SO ridiculous now, but this was decades prior to credit cards.
I started at $1.10/hr, and when I secured a much higher paying job two years later and quit, I was still making the same $1.10/hr.
I can still recall when the Bank of America approached my boss, trying to get him involved in something called a "Bank of America Credit Card" My boss practically threw him out of the store, later telling me, "They want to charge a 6% fee on ALL sales!
Yup, delivered news papers to by mine. Same color.
In 1957 I turned 5 years old. I remember that for my birthday my dad took me to Western Auto to get me a bicycle for my birthday present. We went over to where the bicycles were displayed and he told me to pick one out. The one I picked was a fully loaded Western Flyer. It had a headlight, horn, streamers in the handlebar grips and a basket. When I turned 16 I had to have a car. I bought a 1957 Chevrolet for $175. It ran okay, but it leaked oil like crazy. I would buy oil at Western Auto by the case. The Western Auto brand oil was 18 cents a quart! I worked part time after school for 4 hours 5 days a week. After taxes my paycheck was $29.95 so I couldn't afford to buy new tires when my tires wore out. I bought 4 recapped tires at Western Auto for $6.99 each. There's no stores around like Western Auto anymore.
@@teasea3152 what do you think the big liquidation warehouses are?
They sure ain't no Western Auto... Smh
I can sure relate to ur story. Nothing as good for a youngster walking into a Western Auto and smelling bicycle tires.
There was a little bit better deal on bulk motor oil...... FISK has bulk oil GLASS quarts for 10¢.
Pep Boys ia as close as you can get now.
@teasea3152 amen fellow parts counter men amen brother's and sisters because women sell parts as well....most people never know how hard we try to be the best and always help our customers and community... myself I don't sell auto parts I HELP CUSTOMERS MAKE EDUCATED DECISIONS ON THE PARTS THEY NEED and it's the only way!!!!!!
i remember in the 60s western auto was the only store around that sold bicycle parts, like tires, bearings, seats & such.nobody else in town carried them.
@@timkis64 they had all the parts! Brake shoes and any of the small parts. Bikes is where I got started wrenching!
All the different coaster brake's individual parts & their names so you could learn something just by looking thru the shelves & bins!
I had to do a lot of chores around the house in order to afford enough money to buy bicycle parts from Western Auto when I was young! If they were still around, I would still be buying all my bicycle parts there as well as car parts. Those are still some of the best times of my childhood.👍
Never thought I'd slowly fade away like an old Western Auto, but we both have become a thing of past American history.
@whicker59 you old too? Family gave me my first rifle from western. In 69. Nice little bolt action.
74 here. Seems just like yesterday though.
@@luckyguy600 Life is terribly slow, while somehow, being horribly fast.
It was the best of times, for a kid in the 60's . I miss the golden years of time.
You and I both!! Best time of my life.
@@garybancroft4976 me too
Got my Western flyer 3speed stingray style bike from western auto back in the 60s. Good times.
Right. Until your draft notice arrived. A "golden era", indeed.
@ true… I remember when my brother got one… and then after he served a few years and came home he was killed on a motorcycle accident… sad day …
I grew up shopping at Western Auto. I sure do miss those places. I even purchased fishing gear at Western Auto.
My grandad owned a small town Western Auto. Was one of the greatest little stores, from tires, guns, hardware, and just about anything else he could pack in and sell. Was such a cool place, I still have knives, rod an reels and guns my grandfather gave me through the years. I can remember around Christmas time, my grandads basement would be full of bicycles my grandfather would put together. Truly an amazing memory.
I loved the one we had in our town. It was ran by a granddad type who was real good to us kids. He would let us roll our bikes right into the store and do repairs at his work station. Had any part you needed for any bike. Or we would just hang out there and watch him do stuff for other customers or he'd tell us stories about the products(especially the guns) or about the town. Great guy. Great store.
When Sears aquired them in the 1980’s,it lead to their downfall and when Sears sold them to Advance Auto Parts,it was lights out for Western Auto!!
@@dimitriberozny3729 that explains why Western Auto had DieHard batteries
Private equity crooks.
@@WilliamOfficeSupply9832 Eddie Lampert!!!
And Advance has bought a number of Pep Boys parts departments and converted them to Advance stores-with Pep Boys running the auto service side. {Plus they now have the rights to sell the (formerly Sears) DieHard battery.
And then Sears went belly-up to...K-Mart(?)
I was lucky enough to have worked part-time at a Western Auto when I was just 13 years old in 1976, located in Atascadero California assembling bicycles for the Christmas season. It was a great experience and at a time that was magical and fun that I'll always cherish.
Thank you for this video!
Loved watching this. My Dad worked for Western Auto for his entire career. By the early 80s they had over 4,700 stores nationwide. I still have a working Wizard snowblower from the 70s. Great times!
One of my favorite memories of Western Auto was saving up my money to buy my first transistor radio. My older brother would also save up his money to buy one.
I loved Western Auto. Those were the days!!
In small towns with no other stores western auto had it all...once furniture...auto parts...tire...appliance stores came in western auto was overlooked
Setting aside the dark side reality for those of us that have fond childhood memories of Western Auto, what a wonderful memory jogger and memory lane trip this video is and all the fond personal commentary that follows. Thank you.
We bought a Winchester rifle at our local Western Auto. And that's where we would get ammo, fishing gear, and other supplies, too
I worked for Western Auto as my 1st job right after high school. While the store carried and sold a lot of fishing gear, don't recall selling any guns of any kind....and I bought my guns, along with a well used Saddam Huesien flame-thrower eslewhere.
For well over a year, my routine went like this.....
Close the store at 5:30 on Saturday, fire up my motorcycle and ride 130 miles to Fresno, CA, to spend some time with a gal I was dating at the time. Then, leave at 5 AM Monday morning to be back in town so I could attend some college classes I was attending at the time. Then, the woman who would become my 1st wife moved in right next door, and all of a sudden, my 'former' girlfriend was 130 miles away. I did marry that woman, but....after 44 years of marriage, she, without breathing a word, ran off with a former friend and I divorced her a year or so later. She recently died....sure did seem mighty strange looking at the woman I had been married to for 44 years lying in her casket. BHE
My mom saved up and bought me a bicycle from Western Auto for me in 1960. Thanks Mom.
@EASTSIDERIDER707 she probably really sacrificed to get you that bike, good mother.
I never knew how much I'd miss Western Auto. I remember the store from way back during childhood.
Our first deep freezer came from Western Auto it was on Main Street in Corbin,KŸ we had it for many years. The store burned down and the city made the site a small park. Miss this store it was a great place to just walk around especially at Christmas time.
I worked for Western Auto for two years in Watsonville, CA, starting in '58 right after graduating from high school. My mother bought one of thier 15 cu ft freezers in '58 and I have NO idea of whatever happened to it.
IF you ever watch the movie, "Back to the Future" there is a segment in the early part of the movie which shows a Western Auto store with the old fashioned 'Circle Arrow' displayed...which 'my' store didn't have.
There, I changed a lot of tires, auto batteries and seat covers. Startied out $1.10/hr, and when I quit two years later, even although I considered myself to be a much more valuable employee, still made $1.10/hr. They sold a huge amount of bicycles there, and when I wasn't changing auto parts, I was busy assembling bicycles for the "Christmas Rush".
My dad ''opended" the door for me, I quit WA and went to work for a place which printed trading stamps..(S&H, Blue Chip, and etc.....Remember those? (What a FAD they turned out to be) A book of 10,000 stamps cost the merchants $100, which was then simply passed on to the customers.
For decades, if a store didn't give trading stamps, my mother wouldn't shop there.
BHE
My first time hearing about this store. It’s nice to hear people’s experiences with it. Seems like it was a cool store.
@@fulleffort2092 It was one of the leaders of the era....started out selling auto parts, but gradually branched into other areas....TV's, appliences and etc. When I worked there in 58 through 60, I bought a sewing machine which still works and is ''In the family". (of course, at the time, most sewing machines were being made in Japan)
@@MaryStevens-tb2dz I wish I could go back in time and walk around long gone stores like this. Thank you for sharing your memories.
My Dads is from Barbourville. Trosper. My Pappaw worked in the mines in Harlan, where my Dad was born. They moved back in the mid 40’s. Finally settling in Cincinnati in the early 60’s after working in northern Ohio and Detroit.
When dad got a newer car, the first thing he did was put seat covers in it. I think that they had a special one week end. Seat covers for under $20 per seat, front and back, installed. So, there we were one morning early get them installed. Quality time with my dad. Loved it. I wondered the store while waiting for the job to get done.
I remember our small town Western Auto store. I loved going in there with my dad and getting parts. And at Christmas time it was always decorated and Full of toys. I miss those simpler times.
Used to buy a "brick" of 22cal. for 5 bucks. Gone are those days.
Dayton, Texas still has a Western Auto. I used to go to the gun case when my grandfather took me there as a kid.
You can’t even buy an actual brick for $5.00 theses days
@@failranch9542 wrong ..bricks are about a nickel apiece ..400 thousand layed in placed ..try again Skippy you failed
@@williamjones6053 seems you have a rather solid one between your ears. Skipper.
No you failed because bricks are not five bucks each ..but you do you boo boo
My dad, born in 1924, worked there for a few years.
We had a western auto and a gambles store on the same downtown block in the small Nebraska town where I grew up. Things were far better then. I pity kids growing up today. They have no idea what they have missed.
I AGREE ......
I grew up with coast to coast hardware and gambles in Nebraska
💥So true!..."Today's kids will only have fond memories of their younger days spent on their cellphones." 24/7
Per the photos there were a few Western Auto-Gambles combination stores.
Our small Indiana town had a Gambles and Western Auto too. I remember the smell of new rubber every time you walked into the Western Auto store. The owner was a friendly, helpful guy. I sure do miss those times.
I remember in the late 60's riding my bicycle down to our local Western Auto. I loved going in and paying on my dad's account in the small South Georgia town we lived in. I remember the smell of the tires and the vinyl seat covers as well. Great memories for sure :)
Western Auto was my fathers favorite auto parts store back in the 1950's. He maintained his 1956 Ford Station Wagon by purchasing new parts, tires, batteries, oil filters, engine oil etc. He bought my sisters first bicycle there too. He even bought a 16 gauge shotgun for rabbit hunting there for his beloved weekend hobby of small game hunting in the Fall each year.
I learned about saving money because of Western Auto. Saving for handle grips, banana seats, tires, etc for my bikes. I am so thankful I had this store growing up.
I worked for three years at the Western Auto store in Watsonville, CA, in the late 50's which did a huge business in bicycles. In the summer time, I spent all of my spare time (when I wasn't installing batteries, tires or seat cover on cars) assembling bicycles for the annual Christmas rush.
I started out at $1.10/hr, and when I quit three years later for a job which paid twice as much, i was still making $1.10/hr.
However, 15 years ago, when I finally retired from work (at the age of 70) I was then making $30/hr.
BHE
I grew up in Louisville , Kentucky and we had a WESTERN AUTO store at the
Iroquois Manor Shopping Center .
I remember going to Western Auto in Greenwood, IN when I was young. I have a Model 60 22LR rifle dad bought there. It has Western Auto engraved in the barrel.
My friends and I used to walk two miles, one way, along the RR tracks to the Western Auto store. Why, they would sell .22 shells to us kid, so we could go plinking at the old, abandoned strip mines. Your post jogged old memories. ✌️
Western auto had their own brand name Revelation. My first baseball glove was a Revelation from Western Auto. I had a Western Flyer bicycle when I was a kid also. Living in a small town our Western Auto store had things you couldn’t get anywhere else unless you went to to larger city. The town I grew up in still has a Western Auto store. Although the corporation is likely gone, they still use the Western Auto name. It’s been owned by the same family for decades. They are still a great store to have in our area. I’m over 60 and still buy from them and always will.
This is a well done docu-video, I too owned a western flyer bicycle late sixty early seventys. When going down town to shop in those days, the days when department stores were in high rise building's and depending on your needs you had to go to different floors. Mom would say that maybe we can stop at Western auto if we had time. Every now and then I got a chance to get there, being right on the out skirts of down town and in the opposite direction of going home. As I got old enough to go down town with my friends western auto was always on our list of places to go but never before going to the sporting goods first. Lol
Thank you for this.
@@randelldavis578 I bought my first snow shovel here as a kid mid 70s to shovel others sidewalks to make money. I still have it today. Best built shovel I've ever owned or used.
My very first job at 18, right after graduating from high school in '58, was working at a Western Auto store in the Watsonville, CA store, where I worked for over two years. This store did a huge business in bicycles and auto tires. When I wasn't changing auto tires, seat covers or batteries, I was assembling bicycles for the upcoming Christmas rush, which they had a lay-away system for, and sold over 100 bicycles. People would come into the store, make a $1 payment on 'thier' bicycle. I started out at $1.10/hr, and two years later when I moved on to another job, which paid more than twice as much, I was still making $1.10/hr....although I considered myself to be a much more valuable employee.
Now, the entire store has long been torn down with an Ace Hardware store now in its former site.
BHE
@@metronorthwtrain1452 Those were the "GOOD Ole days" ...... I truly MISS those times, .... World is so "upside down" now !!!
Always went Western Auto with Dad. Small engine repair, appliances, wizard lawn mowers, boating stuff, guns, etc. Super nice man owned the franchise. St.Marys Ga the 80's
My family owned a Western Auto Associate store in a small town from 1970 to 1986.
@@miker252 western auto was the koolest store ever - and in my book it still is
Stuttgart?
The western auto building in Kansas city has been turned into condos. It's a beautiful building and still has the western auto sign lit!
My family and kids will never forget Western Auto in Goshen Indiana and the owner Mo. We bought lots of Things for home and auto on time. Was a GREAT place to do business.
Our neighbors owned/ran the Western Auto in town. Always got great service, and their son helped me out once with my car in our garage, I wish I could put that hilarious story here, it would be a bit too long for this forum. But thanks for making it pop-up in my memory 😂😂😂
Shopped at the Fallston, MD store in the 80s and I loved it. I was really into cycling and bought a western flyer racing bike. It was fantastic. Very strong and only weighed 19lbs.
My first Bicycle was a Red Western Flyer with Banana seat...Loved it
I miss them days, but glad you brought back the memories. Thanks.
I worked part time at Western Auto's Parts America starting in 1998. I really liked it. I was tested on my automotive knowledge prior to hiring. Fortunately, I'm well versed in cars and it wasn't a problem and I was hired immediately. Almost a year later an uncle that worked for Advance Auto Parts let me know Sears had sold almost all the Western Autos and we'd be an Advance Auto store soon. They were so different. Auto knowledge was not a requirement, they would give needed training for that. That's why most of the parts sales people can't answer much more than their POS computer tells them
Same for me, I was hired in 1998 and I remember having to chance our stores products and inventory to Advance Auto parts. I bought some great craftsman wrenches and a toolbox on clearance prices.
My big brother bought me my first red bicycle with training wheels in 1960...I was 5...he was 19....like a second dad to me.....R.I.P. Bert....
They were great stores. I grew up in Florida and Virginia in the 1960's and 70's, and they were everywhere.
Still neat to see that huge Western Auto sign lit up every night in Kansas City!
@bt8143 was hoping someone else would mention that! I pass through occasionally and it always makes me smile
As a kid growing up in the 50’s loved to go to Western Auto and just look at all the nice stuff they had.
I was 10 in 74 and my mom and dad bought me a little mini bike from Western Auto in Bossier City La my cousin’s came down to visit from Kentucky we would ride that thing every day bout all day long we would walk to the gas station to get gas for it, back then gas was 43 cent’s a gallon. To me those were the good ole days. What fond memories for me
I loved going to Western Auto in the 70s as a kid. I had my trusty western flyer bicycle, ten speed and I remember my mom bout me a green machine big wheel toy there. Miss those times.
04:42 My first bicycle showed up under the Christmas tree from "Santa". It was a red Western Flyer beauty. My world expanded immediately that morning by a full order of magnitude. To this day, that was the greatest single gift I have ever received. I rode that bike for years until it finally turned to dust.
I suspect "Santa" was actually my mother and father 😉, who pretended to be as surprised as I was by such a magnificent machine showing up out of the blue in the middle of the night. I'm not sure if, in my later years, I ever thanked them properly. So, I'll do it now...Thank you, Mom and Dad! Miss you both!☺☺☺
Mine to man....early 80,s firemist maroon/adjustable chrome Mono-shock in middle with honeycomb mags......good times/memories.
I vividly remember my Dad almost living in this store along with K&W Auto. Definitely better day's 🇺🇸
Days. Plurals don't need apostrophes. Dogs. Cats. Days.
Wow... viewing from Australia what an amazing story
@@marcoziervogel6957 Western Auto also sold guns and ammo, they sold everything
I worked for Western Auto/Parts America and then Advance Auto back in the mid 90's and early 2000's, talk about a roller coaster ride during all that! Now I see Advance is starting to close stores nation wide...thanks for posting this and taking me back to memory lane when Darrell Waltrip and Al Hoffman were the faces of Western Auto in Nascar and NHRA.
I grew up in a small town in the 50's and 60's and we had a Western Auto. I loved it. I still have a BB gun that came from there. We bought everything there. Washers and dryers, freezers, refrigerators, bicycles, tires, guns, tires, fishing supplies and our first color television which was a Zenith brand. Oh what fun it was to go to the Western Auto that was owned by Pat and Kathleen Carter. A guy named Max Chamblee worked there and he also drove a school bus. What a great time to grow up in.
great video, thank you for presenting this.
I liked it!
I remember this place. I used to go there all the time just to look at the tools and radios when I was a kid.
One of the iconic Western Auto brands you missed was their "Truetone" line of radios and electronics. For many of us- especially if you lived in a small town- your first radio or TV was a Truetone.
Like everything else Western Auto sold, they didn't actually make anything themselves, but rather contracted with larger companies to re-brand their existing products, sometimes with small design changes, to sell exclusively at their own stores and at cheaper prices too. This approach allowed them to decide what kind of product they wanted, then they could ask all the manufacturers what they could offer and choose the lowest-priced one. The actual manufacturer of all their products varied and even the bigger names like Sears, JC Penny's, and Montgomery-Ward used this same approach. Where Western Auto varied with the others is that their main product lines were always good quality- they refused to sell junk except for some of their lowest-cost products which didn't carry any of their own branding.
We can be wistful looking back knowing how important much of the past was to us in a personal way, understanding that none of those born too late to experience it will ever understand what a joy it was to do go shopping at places like Western Auto in person instead of seeing a plethora of images on a screen, wondering if we will get what we think we're seeing when it arrives at our doorstep. We have far more choices now and far lower prices but they joy and excitement and the personal touch is gone forever with fewer and fewer people knowing what was lost and it's value. I still try to shop locally and to support the smaller business and companies and encourage you to do the same.
My first bike was a western flyer we lived 15 miles west of town it was always a treat to go to western auto as a kid,if they were open today I would trade there.
The giant Western Auto sign still adorns the old headquarters building in downtown Kansas City.
Western Auto had a nice Christmas display, helped you feel the season. As newlyweds, we bought our first refrigerator , a Wizard auto-defrost 2 door, for $206.00. It lasted 20 years.
The western auto in my town was a gun shop that sold car parts and bikes. First hand gun and shotgun I ever owned came from there. Everyone sold guns back in the day.
I miss that place, The 80's was a good time to be there
We had a Western Auto in our town in the 80’s. Miss that store.
This is a wonderful video. You told the story of Western Auto very, very well. It makes me long for 60's and 70's.
I bought my first car in the 70s, it was a 1957 Chevrolet Belair. The first new set of tires I bought for it was from the Western Auto store located on the corner of Baseline and Geyer Springs Road in Little Rock, Arkansas. I think I have a couple of wizard tillers and a mini bike frame still today. Yard art now. Cool video.
I remember the TrueTone radios at home. We had Wizard lawnmowers too. Still had one from Dad when I got married in 1975.
In the 60's,my Dad was a firefighter and had a part time job at Western Auto on his off days from the fire station. I had two Western Flyer bikes. Loved the bicycle parts shelves. We had a few appliances find their way home also.
Western Auto bicycles are still very usable today. I have a ten speed that I purchased new in 1976 it still operates just as it did when purchased back in the day.
Grew up with one in Addison Illinois in Green Meadows shopping center. Can remember going there with my father almost weekly. He would buy tools, spray paint, my older sister had a Western Flyer bike.
The last one in our town was owned by some fella that when we went in, he'd follow you everywhere you went. He was the definition of a dork. But his 2 daughters were just drop dead gorgeous. I can never think of that store without thinking of the girls
Great content my brother!!!!!~
I remember the western auto in Eloy Arizona 😊😊😊 younger days of the USA 🇺🇸 nation 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Was a general store where we lived in Shafter Ca. Got a lot of our Christmas presents from there. I still have moms ring she bought from there back in the early 70’s
I don't remember Western Auto I wasn't born until 1966. But what a great documentary and what a great store!!😢
K mart was one of my favorite stores in the 70s 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
I still have a Tap and Die set from Western Auto and a 22 pistol I bought in 1972
I got my first bike at Western Auto in 1985, it was a BMX like bike, red and called "dirt devil" before the vacuum lol
Loved it
The dirt devil vacuum went on sale in 1984….
I remember they had a few toys like pressed steel trucks and cars i admired them on the shelf never getting one. In my 60's now and i collect Western Auto items mostly toys. Fantastic video Thank you 😊
I loved Western Auto back when I would go with my dad in 70’s.
I was born in June 1961. My very first bicycle came from Western Auto. I received it for Christmas 1969, I was 8 years old. It was the best bicycle ever! It had a sparkle blue paint job with pin stripes, a banana seat, butterfly handlebars, and a red stripe on the tires. I loved that bike and Western Auto. There was still a store open in 2013 in my old hometown in Arkansas. It was hit by a bad tornado on Halloween 2013 and was demolished. It never reopened. Sad day.
And thats why replacement windshield wiper blades now cost 26bucks when they used to cost a buck.
I bought my first camera, a kodak 110 pocket instamatic, from a Western Auto store. Back then, they were in the old The Drug Store building. It was small and they didn't have a lot. They later moved into the old Wards store and had a garage. Always liked the personal service, often waited on by the owner.
All good things must come to the end. I remember shopping at Western Auto. Great memories, our society today is cold and not personal. Thank you Western Auto.
In the late 90s they had go cart parts and .22 rifles
Yep, I used to go with Grandpa and could definitely smell the tire s. It was always cool to spend time there.
I miss it...last one here in Rhode Island was in Slatersville...i demoed it to build a new Brooks Pharmacy back in 2003...the floors were asbestos tile too...loved the minibikes and go karts there..
My mom worked at the Mission KS store in the late 60 early 70’s. They also sold the Midland Radios which is a Kansas City Company that is still in business.
Oh, Midland brand! Gosh it's been decades since I've thought of that brand name. A real staple for the electronics my parents, um, Santa sourced and placed under the tree for myself and siblings. Thanks for the memory jogger.
@@stevelange819 I remember my mom telling me that at the time she worked there Beneficial Finance company owned Western Auto. Then store in Mission had Spiegel catalog in the back of the store on the right hand side.
Back in the 60s I remember cutting our the ads for a bike and leave it at my fathers lunch box so he would see it. It never worked. I ended up with a used bike!😢
I used to visit Western Auto down the street from my house as a kid on my bicycle to get bicycle parts, inner tube patches, tires, and tubes. That was in the 60’s in Houston, TX.
Love that store.
That’s why I wanted to watch this video. I remember the Store well! I also grew up in Houston, NW side just outside of Loop 610, and with my Dad would visit the store on W 43rd Street, next to Weingarten’s Grocery. Bike parts! It was a cool store.
I grew up on the East side near 75th right off of Harrisburg. My store was on Harrisburg at 70th street.
loved the auto zone photos @11:15
This was a terrific store, sort of a hardware store and auto supply on steroids. It was way more fun for a kid to wander into than a hobby shop. Bikes, skates, even portable TVs and electric guitars--it was a very cool store with stuff any kid with some sort of job could afford. Their ad flyers were filled with neat stuff; all priced to move. Always smelled like oil and new tires. I miss it.
In the 70's I could get a "brick" of 22 rounds (short, long, or long rifle), bicycle inner tubes, or any other staple of country childhood. What a great place in Lawson Missouri.
We Had A Porch Glider Growing Up Dad And Mom Bought It At The Western Auto Store In Corydon Indiana I Loved It.And Also I Got A Marble The Mustang Toy Horse I Loved Riding It.
Loved western Auto! Mercury Marine got its start with them! Wish we still had stores like that
I grew up directly behind a shopping center that had a Western Auto. Us neighborhood kids loved this place. We !! Would have too check out the new bicycles! Lets see. I bought a lot of Daisy BB's for my air rifle. Those in the little tube. My first Banana seat for my bike and high rise handle bars. A pair of Tony The Tiger handle had grips yo match the banana seat. Oh, other items to many to mention. I still have one of the handle bar grips on my work bench to remind me of the good old days. Loved this store. 🤗🤗🤗🤗👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲
There was a Western Auto, Otasco, and TG&Y store on the same block in the bigger town
we used to go to.
I was in hog heaven, my folks would run in the grocery store, and I'd hit all 3 of the stores.
All sold firearms, ammo, camping stuff.
My Dad had credit at Otasco and Western Auto.
Man I missed them stores along with Otasco, got all my bike repair parts from them , when I got older I bought my first 6x9 Jensen Triax speakers for my 71 Mustang, I was so excited.
Interesting how we've been evolving back to "mail order".
Very educational documentary. Really enjoyed it. I'm 48, but I vaguely remember when I was really little, going with my dad to the Western Auto in Liberty, NC where we lived. That would probably have been 1981-1982, somewhere around there. There is still an associate store at 501 East 3rd St. in Siler City, NC, and still has that Western Auto signage on the front of the building. Not the same, but it's still nice to see the Western Auto sign.
Don't forget the 'Truetone' line of electronics! There were Truetone-branded radios, clock radios, televisions, record players, car radios, as well as home and car stereos.
Citation brand appliances. Their Sandblaster tires were popular with off road and dune buggy enthusiasts.
Truetemper tools also
We had a "Local", simular retail store called Benny's , in Southern New England states ..... It had a little bit of "everything" , and they offered tire changes, repairs, and tire balancing, in most locations ..... They closed in 2021 (i believe....) and they are "missed" by many locals !!
I had a automatic fly fishing reel . Still in the box with the paperwork from Western Auto . Gave it to my youngest son 《39》just a few weeks ago .
I loved going to Western Auto with my dad
My great uncle had a Western Auto and I have a 12ft measuring tape from him. There was all kinds of neat 1950's and 1960's objects I remember from the 80s. Now that I am a mid age gear head I think it would've neat to have WA swag. The store front signs were behind his sheds. There was a box of toys that were supposed to be mine but disappeared. Thank you