18 Apr 2025 - Downtown Branson; Dicks 5 & 10; Centennial Museum

 

Our campground is located not far from downtown Branson.  The advantage of that is it's proximity and the fact that the Branson Trolley stops right here within 50 ft of our camper!  This morning we boarded the trolley and in about 10 minutes we were walking the streets of downtown Branson without having to be concerned with parking the big ol' brown truck!  The trolley is free also.

We deboarded the trolley at stop 7 which is right behind Dick's 5 & 10 store.  Walking around the front, the entire street is closed and being redone likely before the main tourist season starts.

The sidewalks are very narrow with the street closed

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Our first stop was Dick's 5 & 10 store, which is an iconic, old time variety store, called "the cornerstone of Downtown Branson and shopping in Southwest Missouri".  Basically if they don't have it, you likely don't need it!  They have about any and every game you've ever seen.  They have old-time brands of candy and toys you have not seen since your childhood.  Souvenirs, hardware, sewing supplies, greeting cards, a cap gun collection, an arrowhead collection,  and on and on.  

Dick's 5 & 10 started in 1961 here in downtown Branson, Missouri. Although the store was small, having only 1,500 square feet of retail space, founder Dick Hartley had a vision of owning and managing a well-stocked variety store, where customers could find the items that meet their needs.  In the early 1970's Dick was able to acquire the current location and they moved into the 10,000 sf building they operate today.  Dick passed away in 2006 but the family including his spouse June continue the operation.  We walked every aisle and never bought a thing, but had a lot of fun seeing all the stuff in there.  

After our "stroll down memory lane" in Dick's, we headed down the street looking into various shops along the way, stopping in a few but again, not buying anything.  We have a long trip ahead of us this summer, so we are very selective on what souvenirs we buy.  We looped around Main Street and then did a loop south on Commercial Street also.  There we stopped into an Amish spice store and a pawn shop.  

We also stopped into the Branson Centennial Museum.  It was free of charge   This museum is only a couple rooms, but it tells the store of Branson and how it evolved into the tourist and entertainment center it has become.  

Branson aerial photo from 1952

We looped around and back to Main Street and then headed to the Farmhouse Restaurant for lunch before boarding the trolley back to the campground.  This afternoon Doreen got us caught up on laundry and I worked on some admin stuff and cleaned the front cap of the coach.  

We have two more days here but all day Saturday and Sunday we are supposed to have heavy rain so we will be watching the water levels and staying tuned into the local weather.  We hope to see the Veteran's Museum and another museum at the College of the Ozarks.