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The Good Old Days at Gibson's in Downtown Wichita Falls

I worked "security" at the old Gibson?s store in downtown Wichita Falls for a year or so. Not much excitement to report. One of my most interesting cases was the "Missing Coffee Fund Caper". One of the employees of the store would keep the coffee supplies stocked and had a can where coffee-drinkers could deposit a dime, or quarter, or whatever the going price was back in 1982.

It was noticed, however, that occasionally, the "money can" would be empty, along with the coffee pot. It was suspected that someone was stealing the money rather than people not paying for their coffee. The employee break room happened to be sectioned off by a few merchandise shelving units which, by their very construction, had many small peep-holes already built in. A likely suspect was pointed out to me. The reason why this person, a female, was the likely suspect escapes my memory.

When the "likely suspect" entered the break room, I made my way to the peep-hole-merchandise shelf and peered though. I got there just in time to see the suspect-employee take money out of the can and place it into her bra. I met her as she exited the break room and announced "You?re Busted"! I mean, after all, we were co-workers, sort of. No need to get all official over a theft of $3.50 or so. She got fired. No big report to write. Have a cup of coffee on the house! Saw her in the mall a few years later and we laughed about it.

My main job was walking up and down the isles, in uniform of course, making my presence known in the hopes that this would deter shoplifters. I could often be found sipping on a bottle of "Coke" filled with peanuts as I made my rounds. Of course, it wasn?t long before I had the store memorized and could direct customers to any items they wanted.

Then there was duty at the front by the cash registers. From time to time, I would take a break from walking up and down the isles and stand at the front of the store. The cash registers were a point of distress at times, and minor arguments broke out from time to time. A female cashier, in a somewhat loud voice, responded to a customer she was waiting on with "Do I shack?" The customer, a much-older male, said "No, No, I said put that in a sack!" Later, the cashier told me that the old man had indeed asked her if she wanted to "shack up" with him.

Then there was the man who would come in every day and buy two bottles of Nyquil. One day a cashier made a comment to the customer about him having a "lot of colds". The customer responded with "Oh yes, I keeps a cold."

One employee was busted for stashing stuff from the electronics department in the dumpster, in the alley, next to the store. Another was busted for sleeping in the warehouse across the alley.

On boring days I would "super glue" a quarter to the sidewalk in front of the store. With the big plate glass windows, this small act provided a lot of entertainment for the cashiers as people would try to pick up the quarter. One man, not to be outdone, went to his car, got a hammer and chisel, and claimed his prize.

I remember the men having to work 6 days a weeks and the women only 5 ½ days. The women would get off at noon or so on Saturdays so that they could go home and do "women?s work", whatever that was. I?m not sure any employer could get away with that these days.

And who can forget the hot dogs and popcorn being prepared right inside the front door? I sure had my share of those not-so-healthy-but-very-tasty culinary delights!

Gibson?s had a store on Kell Blvd. for a number of years, but it just wasn?t the same as the downtown store. There was also a store in Lawton. Was there one in Burkburnett, too? Anyone know? I don?t remember. I wish I had taken a photo or two of the old place in full swing.

Maynard