Strickland's

Terry and Jack were cleaning out a cupboard over at the other farm and they found this...

 

Wow.

Take me back in time.

Strickland's was the grocery store that my Mom went to every week when I was a kid.

I remember that place like it was the back of my hand. 

The aisles of food and goods all priced with an individual price sticker.

The places in the floor where the cart would bump over as you went from one part of the building to another.

The stairway up to the office....I always wanted to know what was up there.

I'd watch in awe at the butchers cutting up the big slabs of meat right in front of me.

My brother Irwin would eat bananas as we shopped....it was okay because the entire package had a price on it....it didn't need to be weighed at the cash.

Food was so different then.  You couldn't find aisles of frozen dinners and boxed processed food.

I remember asking Mom if I could order the sliced ham at the deli counter.  I think it was 2 pounds that we needed.

And the spice and baking aisle.....just being amazed that all this stuff existed.

Their 'Fall Fair' days were especially popular.  They had that sale for a couple of weeks just before the deer hunt.  The place would be packed with people.....the hunters shopping for the upcoming hunt and the moms stocking up on big bags of sugar and flour.  It was a sale not to be missed.

When you got to the cash, a young man would pack all your groceries for you...in boxes and these paper bags.  There was a huge roll of twine that came down from the ceiling and he would wrap it around the flaps of the boxes to make everything secure.  Then he would load up all the boxes and bags into his special cart and take them out to your car and put them in the trunk.  My mom was so lucky to have this service.

And when she paid, she always had to use cash...there were no bank cards at that time.  Sometimes she would use a cheque to pay....I think it was the baby bonus cheque.  They were accepted at that time.

We would get into the car and unwrap our package of suckers...those big ball ones that came all wrapped together with an elastic around them.  We would each choose a colour....I think Kerrie-Lynn was the only one that would eat the black one.

Strickland's added a Broasted chicken and potato wedges counter when I was in high school. We all begged Mom to get us some!  What a treat!

They also started making freshly made 'oven ready' pizzas.  Mom would buy those sometimes for us and they were so good.

Mr. Strickland retired and then the new owner built a new grocery store across town.  Strickland's was left vacant and then it burned to the ground.

But I could walk you through that entire store in my mind.

I remember.

Brenda