When I was a kid, there was a drawer in my kitchen almost completely filled with coils of green stamps. There were a few books in there as well, and I quickly discovered that the books were to be filled with the stamps to redeem for valuable prizes. These S&H Green Stamps were a part of my life for what seemed like an eternity, then they were gone.
The Sperry & Hutchinson company started its little stamp business in 1896, though green stamps didn’t show up in Sioux Falls until quite a while later. The stamps were an early example of a loyalty program, but unlike your Walgreens Balance Rewards card or your Hy-Vee Fuel Saver card, these stamps could be earned at any number of businesses around town. This inspired businesses to increase the stamps earned to attract business away from their competitors. For the grand opening of Sorensen Standard Service at 11th and Dakota in 1950, double green stamps were used to attract customers on the first day.
It took 1,200 points to fill a stamp book. Each book had 24 pages; 50 points per page. Stamps were issued in values of 1, 10 and 50 points, so sometimes a page could be filled with 50 one-point stamps or a single 50-point stamp. Green stamps were commonly found at grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations, though they were also issued by restaurants and even jewelry stores.
S&H Green Stamps hit their zenith in the 1960s and '70s. There were S&H stores in various locations around town as early as 1953 and as late as 1978, though one could redeem via catalogs as well. The stores were associated with Sunshine Food Markets, which, unsurprisingly, offered the stamps in all of their stores.
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In 1981, the S&H company was sold. The company was fading as a tough economicclimate dragged the value of the stamps down significantly. As it took more and more stamps to purchase anything worthwhile, people stopped caring about them and cashing them in. The company was still offering green stamps in 1999, but only about 100 stores in the country were dispensing them.
A company called ProLogic purchased the Sperry & Hutchinson company in 2012. Changing with the times, S&H Greenpoints is the new company. These points can be earned through online purchases and traded in for various gift cards. They’ll even exchange your old books of stamps for points in their program, though at this time you must have at least 26 full books to exchange, which at the current rate can earn you a $25 gift certificate in exchange for those 31,000+ points.
The S&H Green Stamp is an indelible symbol of a bygone era. Those of us who were around during the green stamp days remember them fondly and can still appreciate the items earned with these stamps. I’ll never forget the Country Garden 24-piece glassware set my mother got for three and one-fourthbooks back in the '70s. They were clear gold with embossed flowers.
Eric Renshaw of Sioux Falls has written the book "Forgotten Sioux Falls" and gives a historical perspective on his website GreetingsFromSiouxFalls.com.
