Shopping, Fifties Style

tiltjlp

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With the one-stop shopping of the last decade or so, youngsters of today might find it hard to imagine a typical shopping trip of the early and mid-fifties. A modern shopper can purchase flowers and get-well planters, do their banking, drop off their photos to be developed, select greeting cards, load a shopping cart with an assortment of grocery items, including meats, fruits and vegetables, and pick up the prescription their doctor ordered, under a single, huge roof.

That same excursion in the fifties would require many stops along the way; florist or green house, a savings and loan or bank, the green grocer or fruit and vegetable stand, a drug store, the five and dime or variety store, and a butcher shop. At each stop, you were greeted by the owner, who was also a friend, and usually one or more of your neighbors, and paused to chat with any number of fellow shoppers, who were also friends and neighbors.

In those slower paced days of the fifties, a shopping trip was a social event, not a chore. It might take you the entire morning to complete, or even longer, if a stop at the hardware store was on your to-do list. And you savored each moment, enjoying life in the familiar trappings of a neighborhood that might encompass a mere four to six blocks. In those special days, whatever you needed or wanted was close at hand, and the merchants and shoppers you met along the way, trusted and treasured friends.

And while modern one-stop consumers may cut a few cents off their final checkout totals, the joy of going shopping is mostly a fond memory of the over-fifty set. Those magical days of the early to mid-fifties were pre-high inflation, and a dollar could still get you something of value. Although we limited ourselves to just a few neighborhood merchants, there were usually several shops that sold the same items, and the competition kept the prices friendly for the purchaser. And other stores were a short bus or trolley trip away.

At Ann’s Delicatessen, she knew that if she raised the price of her made-to-order sandwiches, we could always go up the street and buy lunchmeat, a loaf of Wonder, and jars of mustard and mayo from Kroger’s. And Kroger’s knew that if their grape Nehi was higher than it should be, Schmidt’s might get our business. There were advantages dealing with owners who were also your next door neighbors, who you knew on a first name basis.

I won’t say that I don’t appreciate many of the advances of life in the twenty-first century. Cable does offer some interesting and enlightening choices, and rising-crust pizza is nicer than a cardboard-tasting bargain brand. My computer and word processor make writing stories like this much easier than the old electric typewriter I once used. And CD’s are a vast leap in quality and sound to the outmoded cassette tapes or ancient vinyl LP’s I once used to collect.

I just think that mega-stores as huge as some small towns are far from ideal. I feel that knowing who you deal with is worthwhile, even if that out-of-town invader can save you a few pennies on the dollar. Just imagine how nice it can feel to have the owner of the local grocery store ask how your kids are doing in school, and really mean it. Wouldn’t it make you more loyal if the clerk at the drug store was someone you had know all your life, and who had sat nearby during school lunches?

I’m not saying that big is bad, or that mega-stores are evil, I’m saying that a more personal approach is a nice touch. I think there still is a place for smaller, mom and pop stores, and when you drive past one, don’t be surprised if you see me there, just passing the time of day.
 
my wife and i went into the local hardware store( named for the highest card in the deck) once we got into the store we were greeted by the cashier , we got our cart, started walking thru the aisles, and were asked if we could be helped by numerous employees. we looked around , got our things and left in about 10 minutes. thats were ma and pa stores and smaller stores need to compete with big box stores, with convenience, helpfull quality service or an item or service you cant find elsewhere. i see that a lot of the employees at the smaller stores are middle aged adults that know and remember what good service is all about. big box stores you can walk a long time without finding the items you want or someone to help you decribe differences between items.
 
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