An un-mailed post card aerial view of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, in the 1950s that was produced by Universal Photo Company of
Wrightsville Beach. Shown is the bridge to the barrier island and approach to Newell’s.
“WHEN you were
a teenager and
you were loose
on a Saturday,
you always went to Newell’s,”
she says.
By the time Brown was
visiting Newell’s in the early
1950s, it had moved into a
brick building with more
space and variety. No lon-ger
just a concession stand,
Newell’s boasted an array of
women’s clothing and beach
supplies in addition to the
soda fountain.
The Newells kept adding
more space, holding a grand
opening of the renovations
on May 28, 1955, advertised
in a “Special Newell’s Edition”
of the Wrightsville Beach
Newsette. That weekend, cus-tomers
could buy men’s hand-kerchiefs
for 7 cents, bobby
pins for a quarter, and three
“soft, thirsty 20 x 40 Cannon
towels” for a dollar. The store
also carried Coty 24-hour
lipstick and Lady Manhattan
tailored shirts, along with an
array of hardware items and
fishing gear.
Brown recalls how it felt to
see the store on her family’s
way into town for summer
vacations.
“It was like the Welcome
to Wrightsville Beach sign,”
she says. “We couldn’t wait
to see the Newell’s sign.”
Brown lived in Raleigh as
a teenager, but always waited
to get her bathing suits at
Newell’s, including a green-and-
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white polka dot two-piece
her mother bought her. She
also fondly remembers the
beautiful displays of shoes,
jewelry and sunglasses.
Even as a child, she under-stood
that Newell’s was a spe-cial
treat.
“When you went in there
you knew you needed to
behave yourself,” she says.
“It wasn’t like going into
Woolworth’s and going crazy.
That’s the way it was. It was
respect.”
Along with buying clothing
and presents for her friends
back home, Brown liked
spending time at the soda
fountain, where they always
knew her order.
“What I loved the most was
getting up at the soda bar
and just hearing old-timers in
there,” Brown says. “You knew
“You’re gonna miss me when
I’m gone,” goes the Brooks &
Dunn song, and that, perhaps,
is the perfect sentiment to
describe Newell’s variety store,
one of the all-time great icons
of Wrightsville Beach.