Older Texans may remember Gibson's, in a time before big box stores dominated small Texas towns. Now, there are only two left — in Kerrville and Weatherford.
Think of a store with a bit of everything minus the corporate approach to retail and shiny appearance, then add lots of quirkiness and nostalgia — and you get Gibson's.
It's like a five and dime store, hardware store, sporting goods store, and flea market all rolled into one. Even the smell of the place can trigger memories for anyone who grew up in a small Texas town.
Glenn Fleming manages the sporting goods section. TPR asked him, what was the most unusual item recently sold at the store?
"That's actually pretty easy. The most unusual item we had that someone came in here and looked for and bought was a Gatling gun,” he said.
Gatling guns were a hand-cranked, rapid-fire, multi-barreled repeating weapon first used in the Civil War.
Fleming said it's not uncommon for Gibson's to have some large "wow" item sitting somewhere out on the store floor. This year, a big tent setup was featured.
Signs hang from the exposed rafters, air ducts, and dangling fluorescent lights, describing the mash up of items that can be found in the aisles.
Aisle 22 has air horns and frozen bait. Aisle 20 features welding helmets and driveway markers. Another area has cowboy hats hanging above flip flops. Ranch wear and beachwear sit side by side.
Wendy Weeks, who drove in from Fort McKavett in Menard County, looked for a new bird feeder after squirrels destroyed her last two feeders.
TPR asked her if she leaves Gibson's with stuff she didn't know she needed.
"Every time I come here,” she said. “Things you had even when you were a kid, but you don't ever see it again — so it's very cool."
Weeks remembered growing up with Gibson's as a child. Now, she was shopping for her own child, a 5-year-old boy.
The store's toy section may bring out the kid in many older Texans with its tin can telephones, wooden boats powered by rubber bands, and kazoos.
Cashier Rob Munis said impulse buys are common at Gibson's.
"What I usually hear from folks coming in is 'Well, I came in for this, but I'm leaving with all of this.' And I just remind them we're not responsible for their lack of self-control,” he said.
The store is a favorite spot of Kerrville Mayor Judy Eychner, who likes the little bit of everything she can find on the shelves.
"The saying is, 'if you can't find it at Gibson's, you probably don't need it,' ” she said.
The Dodge City Daily Globe in Dodge City, Kansas, where the 700-store chain was once headquartered, reports store founder Herb Gibson turned down a guy named Sam Walton as a franchisee in 1961.
Walton reacted, in part, by founding Walmart, which helped lead to the downfall of the Gibson's chain in the subsequent crowded discount retail market.
The Kerrville Gibson's is the only one that still has ties to the Gibson family.
If shoppers can't drive to Kerrville to shop at Gibson's, there's a similar one located 234 miles away in Weatherford.
