Christmas toys from the 50s. Click to enlarge.
Counting down the days to Christmas is something that children learn to do at an early age. The A&M Toy Store, formerly on Ringgold Road at Germantown, helped them to do that. A large sign above the building showed the number of days, and was reset immediately following each Christmas. The building was a landmark in East Ridge, and the sign was especially visible if a child were riding in a car going down the hill from Germantown Road. A former employee of A &M Toys told me that if he missed a day of changing
the Countdown-to-Christmas sign, people would call the store.
The toy store first appears in the city directory in 1958, with Robert A. Agnew and Frank G. May as owners. Mr. May appears as the sole owner by the next year. The business was started in the early 1950’s as A&M Accessories, which was primarily a hardware and appliance store that also featured sporting goods and boat motors. At Christmas, the hardware stores in the area such as Abe Shavin and Western Auto, added toys to their product lines. A&M was so successful in selling toys that it became their primary business.
In a 1959 interview with the Chattanooga News-Free Press, Frank May told of the new toys available for Christmas. Because of the influence of television advertising, children were said to be coming into the A&M Toy Store to show their parents the toys that they wanted instead of letting their parents decide. In keeping with the space race of the late 1950’s, a “satellite interceptor” toy was on the market. It consisted of a small fan that kept the satellite in orbit until it was shot down by the firing of a rocket from a launcher. Large dolls, some as tall as the girls who would own them, were another popular item. In board games, the home version of the TV game show, “Concentration,” was outselling “Monopoly.” I recall having a used copy of that game. The puzzles would be programmed into an electronic toy today, instead of being printed on a scroll, but the original version was nonetheless challenging and fun.
A&M Toys soon added locations in Eastgate (Toyland) and Highland Plaza, and operated there for many years. In the 1980’s, the Castle opened at the East Ridge location of A&M and eventually focused on selling children’s clothing. The building was demolished within the past few years, and is now the site of a pharmacy. I have been unable to find a picture of the original A&M Toy Store and its Christmas countdown sign, despite the kind assistance of the library staffs downtown and East Ridge, and help from several people in the area. If you have a photo or memory of the store that you would like to share, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@signaldata.net.
Happy holidays to our readers!