The year was 1966. Dad would give me 55 cents to run across the alley to Moonwink Grocery. Mark, the store owner, would sell me a pack of Phillip Morris Filters in a box with a plastic top, knowing I was heading straight back home to give them to my father. I would also spend a nickel, my allowance delivered twice daily, on a candy bar. If dad wasn't in a hurry, I might browse the comic books before I left.
Every neighborhood had a corner grocery within walking distance in the 1960's. These were real mom-and-pop businesses, sometimes being run out of a building on the same property the owner had his house on.
Moonwink had other things going for it, too. It resided in a building with two other smaller store spaces. The local barber rented one, the other was frequently sitting empty.
Those were idyllic days. In my little Northeast Oklahoma town of Miami, there were no security cameras, bars on the windows, or height scales on the doors. Nobody would dare rob a neighborhood market in the daylight, and they closed up at 5:00.
The store owner would let you have things on credit, too, frequently not even writing anything down. He knew his customers were good for it.
In 1967, a new store opened in Miami. It was a Quik-Trip. It was also the harbinger of what would be a major factor in the death of neighborhood markets.
Corporate-driven chains, along with supermarkets, would quickly drive mom-and-pops out of business. While Moonwink survived the Safeway and IGA markets in town, since it was more convenient to walk to the store rather than drive uptown, customers began drifting away to the convenience stores that were open late at night. When I was in my hometown last, Moonwink's lot held an apartment building.
The last mom-and-pop I remember being open was in my high school town of Pea Ridge, Arkansas in the late 70's. One day at 5:00 sharp, they closed their doors (missing height scales) for good.
Comments (4)
I remember our corner grocery store, small but had lots of character. Those were the good old days when it was actually safe to walk to the store and back. I can still remember the smells, a combination of bread and cookies and bologna. I loved those old coolers where they kept the meat. If you were well known, which most of the patrons were, you could usually get a free sample of something. Whether it was cheese, bologna or a piece of candy. I also remember the sound of blades on the meat cutter. Comforting not scary. I also remember getting the candy cigarettes, always one of my favorites. Those truly were a part of the good old days.
Posted by Tammy Farmer | November 14, 2006 9:55 PM
Posted on November 14, 2006 21:55
I remember going to Elsie's - our corner grocery store. For a nickle I'd get either a whole handful of penny candy or a Big Hunk. She had a huge selection of penny candy, candy necklaces, cigaretes, malted milk balls...
She'd let us get stuff on credit for our mom, too. Milk, hamburger meat. I still remember the bell jingling as the door opened!
Posted by Catherine | March 21, 2007 4:47 PM
Posted on March 21, 2007 16:47
Our local "Panazzo's"
was where you bought comics, soda, deli meat,
cigs, newspapers, etc.
Unfortunately, they always had day-old papers that they were too cheap to remove, which led to our families in-joke about going to panazzos to get yesterdays' paper...
Posted by Scott | July 12, 2007 4:07 PM
Posted on July 12, 2007 16:07
Thanks for the memories. Growing up on Vancouver Island (Canada), in the summer we kids usually hand around Hill's Corner Store. We would spend our money on "soda pop" or popsicles and lay around and watch the traffic go by.
Those were the lazy days of summer. :)
Posted by Jake | November 24, 2007 3:42 PM
Posted on November 24, 2007 15:42