One of my most vivid memories of Rike's was shortly before the store closed. Not all of the floors in the building were used for retail and many of them were already not in use at this point. However, you would still pass these floors on the escalator going up to one of the still operating retail floors. The un-used floors were dark, but you could see discarded displays scattered in what can only be described as a retail burial ground. Pretty creepy stuff for a little kid.
By: Juliet WYSO

I worked for Rikes from the summer of 1969 (memories!) to the fall of 1976 when I moved to Cincinnati to work for Federated Dept Stores - the parent of Rikes. Rikes was my first real job (accounting).

  I still remember Downtown Dayton Days and all the people waiting for the doors to open. The flood of people racing to get the bargains was an exciting time. I worked the floor those days and dealing with the customers was always fun - because I knew I would only have to for that day!
  I like to read more about peoples thoughts of Rikes and will be writing more later. Thanks for the memories!!

By: RICHARDHB50

I cannot exactly recall the years that I am going to talk about--it had to be dating back to the the very early 1960s.

I was just a small boy, I am now 50 years old, so it was well over 40 years ago and it was still the heyday of this once great store.

At the time, my family lived in the newly established northern suburb of Dayton, called Huber Heights. My mother had not yet gotten her driver's license, so we took the bus downtown.

I recall that downtown was quite bustling in those days. There weren't many shopping centers out in "the 'burbs" as yet. Certainly no malls. All we had in Huber was a few small shopping plazas. Downtown Dayton was still the hub of the area for shopping, entertainment and everything else.

I recall that before we went inside Rike's during the Christmas shopping season--my mother and I had to first take a peak at the great Christmas displays they had in the windows at street level.

Then we went inside and it was a beehive of activity. While my mom had her shopping to do----my goal--was to get to the floor that had the kids stuff and Rike's Tike land, as I seem to recall them calling it.

I had another goal--go see Santa!!

It was pretty much like the great scene from that modern Christmas holiday movie, "The Christmas Story."

It was so exciting to go up on that floor with all the great toys to check out and of course---standing in line to see Santa Claus.

I don't know if I always got everything I wanted from Santa--but I still have some toys from the time-- the first being a mostly intact stuffed "Beenie Boy" doll from one of my favorite shows of that time--"Cecil and the Seasick SeaSerpent."

My Beenie Boy doll was one of the first to be able to "talk"--you pulled a sting and he said a number of pre-recorded things.

Beenie Boy--along with two other stuffed animals---"Dog" and "Cat" (I guess I was such a straight forward kid--they are little stuffed animals--a dog and cat respectively)--Beenie Boy could still talk---early on he lost the post that had a spinner on top of his beenie--and he lost a foot--other than being a bit dirty--good Old Beenie boy is in pretty good condition considering the passage of time.

It really does amaze me at how much society in general has changed since that time and at how Dayton itself in particular has also changed.
By: Mike G

My Christmas story is from 1954 or 1955. I was not more than seven years old when I went downtown after supper with my parents and two year old brother to see "the real Santa" at Rike's. Other stores claimed to have Santa, but every kid in town knew that the real one was at Rike's alone! The store was crowded and so were the sidewalks outside the store. The Santa mission was soon accomplished, but in my mind, my next mission was to see Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, who was seeing kids at the Home Store (later to become Beerman's, then Elder-Beerman). And so by myself, among the crowds, I slipped away, down the elevator to the first floor, out the door and followed the flow of people to cross the street. I am still amazed that I was able to walk along and cross Second Street, Main Street, and then down the block and cross Third Street and get in to the Home Store - at night! I knew that Rudolph was on the second floor, so I got in line and marveled at the beautiful blue and snowy atmosphere and then I talked with Rudolph. Now it was time to head back to Rike's, so it was back outside with the crowds where I retraced my steps to cross the several streets. I got back to Rike's and started to go inside when a man in a dark topcoat reached down and took my hand and led me into the store. I don't remember anything after that. I have quizzed my father since, and he claims not to remember. I believe he remembers only too well that his seven year old son was missing in a crowded downtown Dayton at night for probably a half hour or more and the store's security had found me wandering in off the street. I can still recall the sights and sounds of the people and traffic and Santa and all that blue at White with Rudolph. That's my Christmas Story that begins and ends at Rike's, with a short journey to the Home Store and back - safely! Later my Mother worked at Rike's in the Tobacco Shop on the first floor. Many years later I would work at Rike's as well, in the stock room downtown and on the inventory team at the warehouse and at the Dayton Mall. I still dream about Rike's and I was sorry to see it go.
By: Sugarpops66

In the early 1960s when I was in Kindergarten and 1st grade my family lived in Fairborn while my father attended AFIT at Wright-Patterson. My father was very busy and rarely had time at home and we did not have very much money but I remember our trips to Rikes as being very special. Sometimes we would go to see the windows more than once during the Christmas season. Seeing the windows was great but shopping at the Tike Shop was the BEST! My sister and I got to go into the store and pick out gifts on our own, last year cleaning out my father's home after he died I found one of those Rikes purchases, worn but lovingly saved. When I was assigned to Wright-Patt in 1993 I took my kindergartener to the now closed Rikes to see the windows and then to the Tike Shop so that he could do his own shopping for his grandparents. While my trips to Rikes were few they were very special.
By: Aiqh