From Where I Sit

By Pat Spilseth, Columnist

Trust me, I’m trying most of the advice from readers about how to get to sleep. Warm milk, a boring book, old radio programs, working the night shift at a ranch, no electronic devices (my computer!) at least an hour before bed… One of the things that has been working lately is recalling people, shops and places I stilI remember from when I was growing up in Glenwood. 

One of my vivid memories is when Mom needed a quart of milk or butter, she’d ask me to run down to Harry’s on the corner and put it on the charge slip. I’d skip down the hill and cross the street from the Court House to Harry’s Grocery store. I didn’t have to hunt for what Mom wanted; there were only a few aisles of products for sale, maybe two. 

Harry and Myrtle Anderson owned and operated the little grocery story, and I’ve known them since Dad was elected sheriff and we’d moved into the jail house next to  the Court House. 

If Harry’s didn’t have what I needed, I only had to go a few steps further down the street to Bob’s Meat Market where I’d be sure to find the bread, milk, cereal, mayo and canned fruit Mom needed. At Bob’s kids could get jobs after school and on Saturday as baggers and stock boys/girls.

On a farther corner downtown was the Red Owl grocery store with its own label of foods. Since I rarely shopped there, I didn’t know where to find the items I needed and didn’t know the clerks. The store was too big for me to find what I needed without asking for help. That wasn’t quick enough for me. I needed to get my chores done so I could play with my pals.   

All I needed to do at Harry’s was to say was “Put it on the charge slip” and Myrtle would pencil in my purchase and the amount. We trusted our neighbors; we knew they were good for the money they owed. Nobody would get stiffed! That awful news would get out to the community fast, and the offenders would suffer loss of reputation and embarrassment. I knew my Dad would settle our bill with Harry by the end of the month. 

Behind Harry’s checkout was one lower shelf where the penny candy was displayed, my treat for going to the store for Mom. Tootsie Pop treats were my favorites; I loved sucking on the hard orange, cherry or grape candy, eventually getting to the chewy chocolate innards. Other good treats were the tiny boxes of two Chiclets, hard coated gum. The wax red lips and black mustaches filled with juice were yummy too. My sister Barb was a big hit when she brought the wax lips and mustaches to my granddaughters at Halloween. Those treats have never gone out of favor. 

For whatever a kid wants or needs, it could be found at Potters’ Dime Store on the corner with the stoplights. My favorite clerk was smiley Dolly who always knew I was Patty, the sheriff’s kid. I could get my school supplies there as well as fresh white tennis shoes for gym class. Mother’s Day presents were available at my price range. Mom loved the blue bottle of Evening in Paris that I gave her each year.

Potters also stocked embroidered and lacy hankies and games like Monopoly and Cootie as well as cards for special occasions. Birthday cards cost ten cents; the large fold out, fancy cards were probably twenty-five cents.

At Potters I could purchase fabric, thread and even elastic, buttons and rickrack trim to make aprons and skirts in home economic classes. Mom got her yarn and craft supplies at Potters for her sewing club projects. The dime store stocked stiff iron-on patches for the knees of my jeans and wooden eggs and heavier thread to darn socks as well as sewing machine needles for Mom’s Singer sewing machine with the treadle that pumped the needle up and down. 

If you needed a really special blouse, dress or swim suit, Glenwear, the women’s dress shop, had it for you. You’d have to be willing to splurge a bit to afford these special items, but it was worth it. You felt beautiful decked out in your new outfit. The shop stocked Jantzen swimwear and Warner girdles, bras and nylon slips as well as dyed to match Pendleton sweaters and skirts. Close by was the men’s clothes shop, St. Clair-Irgens, where the distinguished Harold Irgens presided.

On the other side of the street was Skogmos and the Penny’s Store was where we bought sheets, bath towels, tablecloths and white cotton underwear. We had two drug stores: Setters, which had the soda fountain counter which created tasty lemon-lime and cherry cokes and across the street was Stinsons Corner Drug Store with a door leading into the Minton Hotel.

Individual stores might have had narrow selections, but what more did we need? We dropped off items to be cleaned at Findens dry cleaners and paid our telephone, gas and electric bills at offices downtown and stopped at the post office to buy stamps and send packages. Engaged coupes purchased rings at Skonbergs and Rhyghs Jewelry stores where they also repaired clocks and jewelry.

Guys got their hair cut and the latest gossip/news at Mickey’s or Al’s barber shops, and women got their hair cut, styled and permanents at several beauty shops downtown as well as at some homes like Vi’s who had a downstairs room set up with swiveling chairs and hair dryers. Many women had weekly appointments to have their hair done in pin curls or brush rollers and a comb out with heavy teasing to heighten their “do’s.”

Dad was one of the men who met for breakfast and coffee at the counter of padded stools at Wimpys. Chimes Cafe had yummy cinnamon rolls and Rogers Cafe and Bernies Cafe served tasty meals; they also served alcoholic drinks. Beer was available at Dick’s Recreation and another small bar across the street. Dick’s had busy pool tables in the back of the bar where my friend Wendy and I enjoyed learning the game from some of Dad’s regular jail guests. 

Dad bought his Chevrolets at Gloege’s garage; Arnold Bredeson serviced it. Tires could be purchased at Brownies. Farm implement dealers like Al Fjoslien and Bud Hovern offered John Deere green machines and Hustads had the red International Harvester tractors and equipment.

We didn’t need to go out of town for the movies and to bank as we had all we needed in town. We were loyal home town shoppers, home town supporters.

We had it all! Today’s BIG BOX stores like Walmart, Super Targets and Costco overwhelm me. Though they are convenient for many and often have cheaper prices, they’ve put many small shops out of business. I miss shopping at individualized specialty shops that offered unique items.

Times have changed our shopping habits. There’s little personal connection anymore. Many small towns are fading away, losing business and jobs. Are the values we learned as kids disappearing too? Are we losing more than we’re gaining?

Recalling people and shops from long ago is so much better than counting sheep or worrying about something. Good memories put me to sleep.

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To contact Pat, email: pat.spilseth@gmail.com.