Grocery Store Nostalgia

I was prowling around online earlier today trying to find out exactly what kind of fish I had bought at the store (a croaker) and how to fix it when I came across a blog written by a rather cool butcher from New York.

I live in the South, and his ramblings took me back to the 1970's.

Before I begin, let me say that this used to be a much more rural area. Many families, mine included, would buy either a bull to raise or a side of beef from a local farmer. We all had gardens and freezers, not to mention the canning cellar. Grocery stores were for when we either ran out of something or we could not grow it... but that is another post.

We had one chain grocery store in town when I was a kid, and it left a lot to be desired. My mother and grandmother usually took me to the locally owned stores to go shopping. Each one had a butcher, and he would slice and dice whatever kind of cut one could come up with to buy. You could see him through a glass window at the back of the store by the meat cooler. He would be dressed in a blood splattered white uniform with a little envelope shaped hat, hacking away at huge sides of beef or pork.

There was a little buzzer over the pre-packaged hamburger and chops. My mother or grandmother would ring the bell whenever they needed something special. The butcher would wipe his hands and come out, always with a smile. Mom or Mawmaw would explain what she needed, and the butcher would say he would be back in wink. I was fascinated just watching him cut the meat. If there was a specific weight, he NEVER had to go back and do it again. To me, it was magic. How did he know?

In a few moments he would return with the fresh cut meat wrapped neatly in the white butcher paper. Sometimes he would ask if we needed twine. I was always amazed that no matter how bloody he was, the package was perfectly white without one single spot!

Then again, there are a lot of things about the old family grocery stores that I miss now when I take my kids out.

In other places, these things may still exist... but not here with out three chain grocery stores and only one "home owned" store. (The one home owned store was bought by a foreign family a few years ago and has changed. Insert deep sigh.)

I remember the Brach's Candy bins where you could mix and match a pound of candy. (I loved the butter rum creams!)

People could call in their orders. When they came in, the bag boy would bring it to the front for them!

There used to be bag boys who would unload your cart, bag it up, then take it to the car and unload it for you... without being asked!

The racks by checkout were filled with not only gum but penny candy! There were also candy cigarettes (shich never caused anyone to smoke unless a kid ate too much and ended up having steam from the gigantic sugar-rush pour from their ears) and Marathon Candy Bars... wonderful, gooey Marathon Bars with the yellow ruler on the back of the package.



Marathon Bars... the perfect snack for school because you could use it for math class and then eat it in the afternoon. The perfect ruler for a kid!

I feel that I am fortunate because I have the memories. Maybe it was because "modern conveniences" were a little slower coming to my hometown. Maybe it is because we were a difficult town to convert. I don't know.

What I do know is that I miss those days, especially when confronted with the self-scanner check lanes at Walmart or having to take out my own groceries the other day. It just seems to me that we are all so busy that we have forgotten how to enjoy life. Or maybe we have forgotten that all jobs are important and human contact is something we all truly need.

My family does not have as much as others, but I pray that somehow I can give my children the same kind of memories I have... of interaction with others and the knowledge that having the biggest and bestest does not give you the best memories of childhood.