Berdine’s Five and Dime Store is packed nearly wood floor to tin ceiling with unique items. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

By Ken Drenten

There’s nowhere else quite like Berdine’s Five and Dime Store. The variety store, located in Harrisville, W.Va., has been in continuous operation since 1908.

The store is a celebration of simpler times gone by when shopping was a special occasion, like a visit with family and good friends.

The Six family has been the owners of Berdine’s since purchasing it from the Berdine family in 1983. When the Sixes acquired the store, efforts to modernize the store and compete with newer and chain stores had led to decline.

They removed much of the modernization. Fluorescent lights were replaced with incandescent lighting, and “flower power” bright plastic contact paper that hid older and darker solid oak counters was removed. Classic bins and price labels on the bins were put back into use. An old-fashioned cash register (cash only is accepted at the store) replaced the electronic one, as did many other changes that rolled time back.

Berdine’s Five and Dime Store has been in continuous operation since 1908. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

Berdine’s offers an amazing variety of merchandise within its relatively small space. Packed nearly from its wood floors to its tin ceiling are toys, puzzles and games similar to ones you’ll remember from your childhood; a huge selection of old-fashioned candy and treats like Mallo Cups, Chuckles, Turkish Taffy and Cow Tales; home décor, glassware, housewares and staple items; souvenirs, cards, stationery, locally made products and gifts. Believe me, you can spend a long time having fun just browsing through everything in the store.

Today Berdine’s is an historical landmark as well as a retail store. Shoppers enjoy the store’s diverse and fun products as well as the feel of yesterday. Many locals tell stories passed down from generation to generation about how their family members purchased their supplies and provisions at Berdine’s. And visitors from out of town are made to feel like they are friends as well.

Berdine’s is located at 106 N. Court St., Harrisville, W.Va. (304) 643-2217; about an hour’s drive from Marietta, Ohio.

Learn about other general stores in and near Ohio at Dusty Tires.

Ken Drenten is creator and editor of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

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