Grandpa's Store
My Grandpa Vawser spent endless hours on a tractor when he was farming in Knox County. He and his sons worked hard to make a living on the hilly, unirrigated farmland. Even though Grandpa worked hard during the week, I've been told that he was a social person who loved to go to town on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday evenings so he could spend some well-earned time with his family and friends. Grandma had inherited the farmland from her father, and Grandpa had farmed in South Dakota and Nebraska his whole life, so he must have felt like he had no choice but to keep on farming, even though dryland farming wasn't very profitable in the 1950s.
Then, my dad suddenly quit farming, and moved our family to Norfolk to go into the hotel business. I don't know what went on in my grandparents' minds when they heard the news that we were moving. After all, I was only four years old. However, I do know that Dad helped track down a business for Grandpa to run, and it was only a matter of weeks before Grandpa and Grandma had a farm sale, too, and followed us to Norfolk.
I loved Grandpa's store. His first store was just a small neighborhood grocery store, similar to the general stores sometimes pictured in the movies. The store had a low ceiling, a rough plank floor, dim lighting and no windows. Grandpa sold plenty of canned goods, bread, milk, and staples like flour and sugar. He also sold fresh fruits and vegetables, and he soon built up a good business selling fresh meat at the butcher counter. Grandma worked in the store, right alongside of Grandpa, and Aunt Marj and Aunt Marilyn worked in the store, too, as time went by. Mom didn't do all of her grocery shopping at Grandpa's store, because it was much more convenient to just walk across the alley to one of the two supermarkets located in the same block as the hotel where we lived. However, we all enjoyed shopping at Grandpa's store once in a while; the family discount was also good incentive to make the trip across town to Grandpa's store.
The best part of the store, as far as I was concerned, was the candy counter. Every time I went to the store, Grandpa would fill up a little brown paper sack with an assortment of penny candy just for me. If Mom went to the store without us kids, Grandpa would still send home a bag of candy for each of us. I remember all of Grandpa's favorites: red cinnamon bears, black and red licorice, pink mints that tasted just like Pepto-Bismol, and the white mints that I liked much better than the pink ones. He always put in some bubble gum, the kind that came with a little comic strip inside the wrapper, and he usually gave us some candy cigarettes, too. The candy cigarettes came in a box of their own; about four candy sticks were stuck together in the box, waiting to be snapped apart, "smoked," and eaten. I was surprised to see some "Candy Stix" recently, still in their own box. Only the name of the candy had changed to make it more politically correct.
When he bought the store, Grandpa renamed it "Glenn's Market." It hasn't been too many years ago since I finally realized that Grandpa's name was spelled Glen, not Glenn like the name of the store. Grandpa and his store both flourished. I think that Grandpa loved working in the store because he had lots of people to talk to, and because he finally was able to make some money.
In fact, the store was so prosperous that Grandpa was able to build a new, modern store across the street from the first store. When he and Grandma finally retired several years later, Uncle Lee took over the store, changing its name to "Lee's Superette." I'm sure that my cousins, who spent their teenage years working in the new store, could tell lots more stories about "the store." I wonder, did "Lee's Superette" sell penny candy in little brown paper bags?
Then, my dad suddenly quit farming, and moved our family to Norfolk to go into the hotel business. I don't know what went on in my grandparents' minds when they heard the news that we were moving. After all, I was only four years old. However, I do know that Dad helped track down a business for Grandpa to run, and it was only a matter of weeks before Grandpa and Grandma had a farm sale, too, and followed us to Norfolk.
I loved Grandpa's store. His first store was just a small neighborhood grocery store, similar to the general stores sometimes pictured in the movies. The store had a low ceiling, a rough plank floor, dim lighting and no windows. Grandpa sold plenty of canned goods, bread, milk, and staples like flour and sugar. He also sold fresh fruits and vegetables, and he soon built up a good business selling fresh meat at the butcher counter. Grandma worked in the store, right alongside of Grandpa, and Aunt Marj and Aunt Marilyn worked in the store, too, as time went by. Mom didn't do all of her grocery shopping at Grandpa's store, because it was much more convenient to just walk across the alley to one of the two supermarkets located in the same block as the hotel where we lived. However, we all enjoyed shopping at Grandpa's store once in a while; the family discount was also good incentive to make the trip across town to Grandpa's store.
The best part of the store, as far as I was concerned, was the candy counter. Every time I went to the store, Grandpa would fill up a little brown paper sack with an assortment of penny candy just for me. If Mom went to the store without us kids, Grandpa would still send home a bag of candy for each of us. I remember all of Grandpa's favorites: red cinnamon bears, black and red licorice, pink mints that tasted just like Pepto-Bismol, and the white mints that I liked much better than the pink ones. He always put in some bubble gum, the kind that came with a little comic strip inside the wrapper, and he usually gave us some candy cigarettes, too. The candy cigarettes came in a box of their own; about four candy sticks were stuck together in the box, waiting to be snapped apart, "smoked," and eaten. I was surprised to see some "Candy Stix" recently, still in their own box. Only the name of the candy had changed to make it more politically correct.
When he bought the store, Grandpa renamed it "Glenn's Market." It hasn't been too many years ago since I finally realized that Grandpa's name was spelled Glen, not Glenn like the name of the store. Grandpa and his store both flourished. I think that Grandpa loved working in the store because he had lots of people to talk to, and because he finally was able to make some money.
In fact, the store was so prosperous that Grandpa was able to build a new, modern store across the street from the first store. When he and Grandma finally retired several years later, Uncle Lee took over the store, changing its name to "Lee's Superette." I'm sure that my cousins, who spent their teenage years working in the new store, could tell lots more stories about "the store." I wonder, did "Lee's Superette" sell penny candy in little brown paper bags?
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