Whatever Happened to Value Giant

Among my hazy memories of the late-1980s are that a magic shop once resided in the Bremerton Mall, in a weird space between the Value Giant and Albertson’s. This liminal strip contained Helen’s Health Food Store, a popcorn vendor, occasional kiosks and community displays, a line of coin-op kiddie rides in various states of decay, a JK Gill, and a bank. When the bank closed, Woggys appeared, as if by magic.

The owner was Paul Hinds, an intense man with an extensive collection of rubber masks, similar to the ones sold in Fangoria catalogs of the period. I bought some small magic items there, as well as a series of joke cards. Hinds and my mother did not get along. She apparently put an apostrophe in the magic shop title on a personal check, and “Woggy,” as she called him, became offended.

Since no one mentioned the business — ever — I began to think we had switched timelines in a Mandela Effect. My family came from the timeline where Woggys existed. This timeline was not shared by most.

Fascinating though this concept is, Woggys was apparently quite real. It also occupied the space in East Bremerton’s weird mall far longer than I assumed. Woggys did not vacate until ordered to do so by Eagle Hardware, which moved into the shuttered Value Giant space and wanted to expand out into the rest of the “mall.”