Woolco was the discount subsidiary of the Woolworth company. Woolworths has ceased operation in North America but it still exists in some countries, like Australia.
I miss the "huge" 25" console TVs that took up half a wall, plenty of room for the VCR and family photos on top. I currently have 3 monitors on my desk all bigger than that. I love living in the future!
I had a buddy in high school who's mom did the same thing. I think by the time we graduated (and as each successive TV broke), she had like 3-4 TVs stacked on top of each other!
I’ve never heard of Calder, but this really reminds me of the Sears catalog. We often ordered from it and it was always exciting to go to the Sears and pick up our orders.
As kids, my brother and I would go through the Wish Book and put our initials beside everything we wanted. It was more fun than actually getting the presents.🎁
My personal favorite from that ad is the cement covered weight set. Those benches were absolute junk, unstable feeling and easy to miss the re-re-rack of the barbell. That said, bench notwithstanding, the kit was good as a starter kit to see if you liked lifting weights at all, and it seemed like everyone in the neighborhood had one.
I remember Caldor's well. It was the only department store in the area and the only place hiring for part-time jobs back then in the early '90s. It was also the first place I ever applied for a job, and I got rejected because I had no "work experience."
My friends and I would find these weights in the trash and we would bring them to my basement and they would often mess around with them before D&D sessions. Before I moved out my Mom made me go down and carry them all out to be collected by the town. I had to make over 2 dozen trips to get them all to the curb.
This was a super-fun trip down memory lane with this classic 1981 Caldor catalog, thanks!
Wrist Racers, Big Trak, Missing Link puzzle, Quiz Wiz, Huffy BMX bike - I hadn't thought about those toys in eons!
My neighbor up the street had Big Trak - I wanted that thing sooooo bad. (My parents did get me the "255 Computer Command" programmable Corvette one year though!)
It's awesome to see the Milenium Falcon was only $29.77!!!
"Smurf Slumber Bag"? Yes please.
And what was with "MacBath the Silly Sea Slurpent"?! Seems like a bath-time pun that's really gone awry.
Oh, and if you wind up ordering some items from Caldor, would you mind picking me up some turtle necks, please? I seem to be all out.
My Mom worked there! We always called it Caldor's, probably because the other store was Bradlee's.
We always called it "Caldor's" too!
I thought it was called Caldor's all these years!
My family as well.
I remember Bradlee's well. It was the nearest "toy store".
Caldor must not have had any Canadian outlets; I can't recall seeing any, at least.
They never made it out of the Northeastern United States, but they did grow nicely and had over 140 stores at their peaks.
Back then, we had Woolco and Zellers, and they controlled most of the market, so it would have been a tough squeeze to compete with them.
Totally forgot about Zellers! Woolco sounds familiar - was that at some point branded as "Woolworths"?
Woolco was the discount subsidiary of the Woolworth company. Woolworths has ceased operation in North America but it still exists in some countries, like Australia.
Thanks, David! I have fond memories of going to Woolworths with my grandmother as a kid.
I miss the "huge" 25" console TVs that took up half a wall, plenty of room for the VCR and family photos on top. I currently have 3 monitors on my desk all bigger than that. I love living in the future!
I had several family members with console TV who wouldn't get ride of them, but used them as stands for their non-console tv purchases.
Exactly! My great-grandmother had a huge Zenith that stopped working and kept her new smaller RCA TV on top of it.
I had a buddy in high school who's mom did the same thing. I think by the time we graduated (and as each successive TV broke), she had like 3-4 TVs stacked on top of each other!
I’ve never heard of Calder, but this really reminds me of the Sears catalog. We often ordered from it and it was always exciting to go to the Sears and pick up our orders.
Catalog browsing is something I really miss during the holiday season. Screens just don't capture the experience.
As kids, my brother and I would go through the Wish Book and put our initials beside everything we wanted. It was more fun than actually getting the presents.🎁
My personal favorite from that ad is the cement covered weight set. Those benches were absolute junk, unstable feeling and easy to miss the re-re-rack of the barbell. That said, bench notwithstanding, the kit was good as a starter kit to see if you liked lifting weights at all, and it seemed like everyone in the neighborhood had one.
I remember Caldor's well. It was the only department store in the area and the only place hiring for part-time jobs back then in the early '90s. It was also the first place I ever applied for a job, and I got rejected because I had no "work experience."
My friends and I would find these weights in the trash and we would bring them to my basement and they would often mess around with them before D&D sessions. Before I moved out my Mom made me go down and carry them all out to be collected by the town. I had to make over 2 dozen trips to get them all to the curb.
LMAO - You guys had to be the buffest D&D group in the tri-state area! 💪
Interesting to see how Dark Side of the Moon was holding its value as an "H" album while Let There Be Rock and Fandango were already "E"s.
Fun trip back in time! I still have my Rubik's Missing Link!
I loved that thing!
Where were you? I was a child of the 80s in West Orange (We hada Caldor there)
West Orange, NJ?
Yeah
Nice. I've got family that grew up in West Orange and South Orange. I lived in a different part of NJ and don't recall Caldor.
If was replaced by KMart
We went to West Orange a bunch, I had an aunt who lived there. I was right up the Turnpike in Hudson County.
I liked the Schraffts cordial cherries on the first page.
My father always had a box of Cella's cordial cherries for the holidays.
So seeing cordial cherries always reminds me of him and the holidays.
Thanks.
I love little details like that, thanks for sharing.
Those winter coats remind me of grade school. Every kid had one like that. Thanks for the walk down retail memory lane!
Magnavox! Bless their hearts.
This was a super-fun trip down memory lane with this classic 1981 Caldor catalog, thanks!
Wrist Racers, Big Trak, Missing Link puzzle, Quiz Wiz, Huffy BMX bike - I hadn't thought about those toys in eons!
My neighbor up the street had Big Trak - I wanted that thing sooooo bad. (My parents did get me the "255 Computer Command" programmable Corvette one year though!)
It's awesome to see the Milenium Falcon was only $29.77!!!
"Smurf Slumber Bag"? Yes please.
And what was with "MacBath the Silly Sea Slurpent"?! Seems like a bath-time pun that's really gone awry.
Oh, and if you wind up ordering some items from Caldor, would you mind picking me up some turtle necks, please? I seem to be all out.