Of course, there are always the international stores: H-Mart, Grand Mart, Maxim, Mega-Mart. Each of those has its merits, having specialty items at lower cost. However, many staples — what I would consider staples — cost more.
Or Trader Joe’s. Especially right now: my nieces, Courtney and Lindsay, have been posting to my Facebook page telling me about the cookie butter that they discovered. That must have been while they were on vacation because they have no TJ’s near them and I’m usually their source for special snacks.
I suppose that there are also smaller food stores, but I’m not familiar with them, and that makes finding and shopping at them so much less convenient.
However, when I was young, all we had were those small stores. There seemed to be a store every couple blocks, each one a Mom and Pop affair. I guess they were more or less “general stores.” Wooden floors, close-set shelves, maybe a meat case in the back (we didn’t know to call it a deli at that time, at least not in central Pennsylvania). They sold foods and laundry detergent, as well as small household items, because. . . well, where else would you go? We’re talking the 50’s here, when most women were stay-at-home moms, unless they were teachers or nurses or maybe waitresses. Most families had only one car and the man took that to work with him, so anything that was needed had to be close to home.
I’ve already mentioned Young’s. That’s where my mom worked when in high school. I visited it a few times — or maybe more than a few. Enough to remember it, at least its location.
Derrick’s was also on Race Street, but two blocks south of Young’s. This wasn’t a huge store — more an ice cream and candy shop. I think they had sandwiches, too, but that’s not what I remember. It was right across the street from Feaser School, a prime location for a candy shop. Before and after school each day there were liens of kids waiting to buy treats. Mostly penny candy, which was chosen carefully from the glass display case: “One of those and two of those. No, one of those instead.”
The items were placed in small paper bags.
And guess what? Penny candy was actually sold for a penny a piece. Sure, the actual candy bars were more — a whole nickel.
Ok, moving on. Cain’s store — I think that it was on Spruce and Columbia. Maybe. I know that I visited that store, but it just didn’t have the appeal of Derrick’s.
Closer to home, the corner of Union and Water, Fager’s. The corner opposite held more appeal during my high school years — Banks’ Pharmacy with its soda fountain, but tonight is all about food stores, so that will be for another time.
Back to Fager’s — this is where I was usually sent when my mom or my great-grandmother needed something. I’d head off with a quarter and come back with a loaf of Sunbeam bread and a Hershey bar. Or maybe I’d buy a half-pound of Lebanon bologna or cheese. Or those Lucky Strikes cigarettes.
Or maybe, if I was lucky, there would be a special event. Back to that good old Sunbeam bread. I think that’s the company that sponsored it, though it might have been Stroehmann’s. A truck arrived towing a special carousel: a free merry-go-round ride to advertise this wonderful white bread!
Yes, that’s a photo of a Sunbeam carousel float. What do you expect? In the late 1950’s I had no idea that I’d be writing this so I didn’t take a picture. And if I had, it would probably still be on the film for my Brownie camera, waiting to be developed.
And even closer to home was Shope’s. This one was smaller than many of the others, but it was right behind my house. It wasn’t always there, was built when I was 6 or 7 years old? My greatest memory of this place was a debacle that occurred one afternoon. My mom sent me out with money to get “spaghetti cheese.” I told Dottie, the owner, exactly what I needed, in my mom’s words, and returned home with a paper-wrapped package of cheese. My mother took a look at it, told me that it was wrong and it needed to take it back and get “spaghetti cheese.” Back and forth I went that afternoon, trying to please my mother. Meanwhile, Dottie was getting angry at me. Finally, however, we figured it out and I returned home with the familiar green tin of Kraft Parmesan Cheese.
One more small store (though I know there were others): Stonebreaker’s Store, also known as Stoney’s. This one was on Catherine Street, and its story must wait, because it has its own story.
We did have larger grocery stores, notably Acme. Reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote, isn’t it? However, that was what we thought of when we wanted to go to a “supermarket.” Perhaps not very “super” by today’s standards, but in those days. . .?
And just a note: when we moved to Juniata County in the 80’s, there were still small general stores. Fuller’s, Reinard’s, Oriental. Sometimes I wonder which is better — convenience or knowing exactly what and whom to expect.
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