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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A Family Owned Store and Six Children

A bag of penny candy


I guess as you get older you have a tendency to think back to your childhood days more and more.  Yesterday I was thinking about a family owned grocery store that my mom used to order our groceries from.  I was remembering how kind the family who owned the store was to all of us.  My mom would call Schaffsteins Market on Friday morning with a grocery list from their store.  It was a small family owned store with a butcher shop.  This was back in the day when you would call an order in, they would prepare it, package it and drive it to your home.  Imagine that!  It's hard to imagine that in this day and age.

Anyway, the lady's name was Rose and she was so kind and sweet to us.  She usually delivered the groceries sometime in the afternoon on Friday and always included a brown bag of penny candy for all of us kids.  At that time, there were 6  or 7 of us and she always had enough candy in the bag for each of us to have 4 pieces of each kind of candy she put in the bag.  I was usually the one who separated it into piles and made sure everyone got the same amount.  It was a real treat and something we looked forward to every Friday.  She never charged my parents a penny for the candy, she just wanted us to have it.  Of course, we waited with baited breathe for her to pull into the driveway in her station wagon and would help her bring in all the bags she had gotten together for my mom.  She always took the time to ask each of us how we were and what we were up to. Her goodness showed in her smile and she would usually pat us and tell us she would see us the next week.  Usually, my dad would stop by there on Tuesdays and Thursdays on his way home from work if we needed an extra gallon of milk or a loaf of bread (which we always did) throughout the week.  Back then, everybody knew everybody and Rose and my dad had gone to school together in a one room school that they had to walk three miles to.  (I believe back then every parent told their kids they had to walk three miles a day in the cold and snow.)  HAH  We also had an account with them and paid up at the end of every week.  Nowadays, I doubt if any store would let you do that.

I often think of her and wonder if she ever knew just how much that little bag of candy meant to us.  In the summer months and as hot as it would get, we would walk a 1/4 mile down the road with our cane poles on our backs to fish under an old bridge and after we had been their about an hour, my brother would ask "why don't you run home to see if the grocery lady has come."   I always did...without question because after all I was the one who separated it and made sure we all had the same amount.  HAH   Funny how such a small thing seems like such a big thing now...

11 comments:

  1. I think she knew it dear Kris. How much it meant. There -fortunally still around- people who although have grown up, never forget how it was to be a child...

    A lovely story from the past : )

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  2. Oh, how I love your stories, Kris. Are we made up of the same stuff, or what? We used to have a little grocery store a block up the road, and they had a butcher too. We would get meat and milk and bread and everyone knew everyone. The penny candy came from another store close by, and we would go there all the time too. I can just see you organizing all the candy and giving it to the brothers and sisters to make it fair. I laughed because that is something that I would do too. I bet Rose loved your visits as much as you did hers. What a wonderful lady. That was a long way for you to walk to school. Luckily, our school was right up the road.

    Hey, I bought a bottle of wine yesterday with the name Kris on it. My niece's name was Kris, and I did a post about her today. I would love for you to have a bottle of this wine for yourself. Do you have a World Market in your area? That's where I bought it. I loved your story today, Kris. It was such a delightful one.

    ~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

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  3. This is the sort of thing that childhood memories are made of Kris, what a lovely story.

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  4. I loved reading about your childhood Kristie. It warms my heart :)

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  5. Beautiful. I think it's the small things people do that often get remembered the most by those who received them. I can remember things like that from my childhood that still warm my heart now. Loved this :)) I hope you have a wonderful weekend doll!! And I'm happy you enjoy my art posts, they mean the most to me...some readers prefer outfits all the time, but it's art that I enjoy :) I made a new blog actually, to share some of the other things I like. I haven't added anyone or anything like that yet, but you are welcome to see it, if you wish:

    http://laviedunenouvellefemme.blogspot.co.uk/

    Will be sharing more girlie stuff than I do on this blog :) Take good care doll!! <3 <3

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  6. lovely! that makes me all warm and fuzzy... we used to have a shop like that too ... i loved going in there because we always got such special service... nostalgia is a lovely thing x

    ... and thanks for always being so kind to share a comment on my blog too :-)

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  7. what a heart warming story! I love it...happy weekend from tulipland!

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  8. What a wonderful childhood memory. Isn't it lovely how that simple gesture meant so much to you. So many children now have so much that they no longer appreciate the little things. M x

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  9. Hi Kris, what a lovely story, life is all about the little things I think, your stories are always told in such a nice way, I can even almost see you there, counting the sweets:)
    Happy Monday, may you have a joyful week
    Ax

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  10. What a beautiful story, I love it! Thanks for sharing! Have a nice day! :)

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  11. What a wonderful memory to have! We all need Rose's in our lives. Thank you for sharing a glimpse into your childhood and thank you for your visits and sweet comments at The Dedicated House. Hope you're having a beautiful weekend "up north from me". Toodles, Kathryn

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