About 100 people attended the Festival of Recollections at Caerwys town hall on Thursday evening.
The event documented the town's growth as a service centre since 1490 and shopkeepers had the chance to share their memories of business.
The festival was organised by Caerwys Historical Society, supported by a grant from the Big Lottery Fund.
Society chairman Rowland Ward said: "What we are celebrating tonight is the adaptability and hospitality of our traders."
He said that, while businesses might have struggled in other towns, shops had survived in Caerwys because they have "kept ahead of the trends, of new technology and crucially have been at the heart of the community".
Among those who took part in the festival was butcher Meirion Morgan, who described taking over his father's business in the winter of 1963 and delivering meat to customers over the snowdrifts.
He told BBC Wales: "It was a winter we will never forget... life was pretty difficult on the country roads.
"We managed to get around, nobody went hungry, but it was hard work."
Now in his 70s, he is the last of the mobile traders who have served the farms and cottages in the local area.
Will Hebson, the last grocer and draper in Caerwys, now runs a convenience store and also spoke at the event.
He recalled how there was a ruler along the counter for measuring knicker elastic when he took over the shop 30 years ago.
"I sold the last piece of knicker elastic... a lady asked me to measure a yard and when I measured it she asked me to measure it twice, just to make sure that it didn't shrink," he said.
"I'm convinced that if it did shrink I would never be here today. My reputation would have been finished."
A Flintshire town has celebrated the work of its shops and shopkeepers over the centuries.