Our granddaughter Nell's 4th birthday was September 5th. Brings back memz of the day she was born. It was the year Covid changed life around the world. Paul and I planned to camp out in Southern Iowa - so the car was all loaded up with gear and kayaks. We ventured south and discovered the place we booked for an overnight - Shimek State Forest - had no toilets. Not even the "no running water" kind. No can do!
Then we got word from Jud that Kara was in the hospital - starting induced labor. Feelings of joy and anticipation took over. We got distracted from our original plan.
Plan B was to continue on to Lake Rathbun and check out kayaking potential. Too crowded and we got lost trying to find another way to get to the water in the more shallow end of the lake. Picture us on a remote gravel road with kayaks on top of our car. Road closed. Queue banjo music!
We got periodic birth updates from Jud. When we ended up at a Knoxville City Park we got the news that Nell Marie was born. We toasted over a grill campfire with beer, hot dogs, and smores. Happy Birthday to our beloved granddaughter. 💖 As Nell's birthday approached, Paul and I talked about how much life will change during our children and grandchildren's lives. And thought about life today, compared to our youth. Ch ch ch ch changes! 🎶
I walked out of the West Des Moines Costco one day last week with thoughts of change along with my cart full of a variety of items - food and non. I had a flashback of all the grocery stores past - of all the stores I've loved before.
-The first grocery I remember is the little brick Safeway on the corner of Poplar and 6th streets in Atlantic, Iowa. We shopped there and parked there on Sundays when we attended Mass at SS Peter and Paul up the block.
-Later, our neighbor Paul Morman (not sure of last name spelling) opened a bigger more modern grocery store on the corner of Highways 6 and 71 - where WalMart is now. I can picture right where the candy was in the store. And recall running through the aisles and bashing headfirst into some lady's metal cart. Paul brought out some ice for my dented head. If you have Facebook check out this link for more Atown memories.
-Safeway eventually moved to a big new store just east of the Cass County Courthouse. There was also a SuperValu on the west side of town near the Roller Rink - but we didn't shop there much as it was farther from our house.
-I just got in on the last of the corner store era too. I recall visiting one not far west from North Olive Street. It was the size of a small house and had an overflowing variety of interesting items including candy. And a big old cash register - with the proprieter sitting behind a counter.
-In the 1970s a shopping center was built in a field, north of Highway 6 and Cass County Hospital. Sally Rodgers, Susie Guttenfelder, and I rode our horses in there before they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. 🎵 The area boasted a HyVee Grocery Store, state liquor store, Alco, Godfathers, McDonalds, and Mitches bar. 😆
-Do you remember the price sticker guns? They probably didn't change prices as often as today, right? It was important to not select an item with no sticker - or there would be a "Price Check" announcement as you waited, pen in hand to write a check.
-When I moved to Ames for school, my favorite store was Ames Fruit and Grocery on the west side of town, just off of Lincoln Way. I preferred it over the bigger supermarkets. More cozy. Price can drive where I go, but I do love small gourmet markets. Marczyks (Amy's first job) in Denver and Gateway Market here are a couple. Fewer food brand choices but more interesting.
- The year I graduated from ISU, the country was heading for a recession. I was lucky to snag a job as the office manager at a grocery wholesaler in Sioux Falls, SD. There I learned much about the grocery business as the company, Gamble Robinson served many commercial customers including institutions, stores, and restaurants. The next year I transferred to another GR office, this one in The Old Market in Omaha. It was a big branch that sold to all of the top restaurants in the area - and stores. In Omaha, my shopping "go-to" was the local grocery chain, Bakers - who still had carryout boys. Today, Fareway continues to provide carryout today.
- Next, Paul and I moved to Osage, Iowa, for his career. I stuck with my same employer - traveling north to small branch businesses in Wisconsin and Michigan Upper Penninsula. Osage boasted a couple of small grocery stores (Super Valu and ?). To get groceries on a Sunday, we had to travel to Mason City and Austin, MN. Access to fresh foods is becoming less available for people living in small towns across our country. Small town residents visit Super Markets in other towns to get more variety and better prices, and small local stores disappear.
-When we moved to Creston in 1986, there were 3 grocery stores - and WalMart (not Super) joined later in the 1980s. There was some shuffling after that - Easter's Super Valu on the north side of town closed. Fareway and HyVee built new larger, more modern stores. I developed a shopping system. Meat and other basics at Fareway, HyVee for more selection, and eventually Super WalMart for cereal and other staples. I've heard friends reminisce about corner groceries in Creston - just like in Atlantic.
-Now we live in the (not so) Big City, right by Costco - a warehouse store, Trader Joe's, a small grocery chain store with mostly reasonable prices, HyVee, and Fareway. And Gateway Market for really good meat and a variety of gourmet products. The other perk is the DSM Farmers Market that runs on Saturdays from May to October - featuring fresh, baked, and prepared foods.
We haven't yet taken advantage of grocery delivery and services like Grub Hub. Those are likely on the horizon for us. After that? George Jetson type deliveries and cooking? It will be interesting to find out!
September is rushing by - hope you are having a good one.
