Illustrated by Valerie A. Rambach 

STORES, STORES, STORES
by Rita Y. Chiavacci 

            One of the most vivid memories of my childhood had to do with the various stores in our town.

          Wyoming was a small town, not unlike many of the small mining towns in the area.  Many families, having no private transportation, relied on the trolley, a bicycle or foot to visit relatives or do holiday shopping.  The local stores met everyday needs.

          All the stores, we frequented, resided on Wyoming Avenue, the main artery through town.  Starting at First Street and ending at Eighth Street were Kluger's Grocery and Dry Goods, Kamor's Candy and Ice cream, Fetch's Food Store, Shoemaker's Hardware, Stapleton's Drugs, Russell's Ice-Cream Parlor, Kluger's Department Store, and the Acme and A&P.  Since we lived at the lower end of town Kluger's, Kamor's, and Fetch's were the handiest to run to if we needed an item or two.

          Kluger's, on Second Street, was a combination grocery and dry goods store.  Rows of tables with overalls, towels, and shirts greeted you as you entered the store.  Along the wall stood fabric bolts and narrow drawers filled with threads of every color.  This was my favorite place.  When Mom needed thread, I would go with my little swatch to find the perfect match.  I can still see those rows and rows of blues, reds, greens, lavenders, and every color imaginable.  Some of the drawers housed embroidery thread.  Once my Mom introduced me to the craft, I carefully chose my own colors.  Decisions, decisions, do I choose the six strand or the pearl.  I did love the threads!!!  Still do!!!

          A small grocery occupied the area beyond the dry goods.  Some people shopped with a "book".  The "book" was a small notebook that the groceries purchased were written in.  The bill could be paid when the miners got a paycheck.  We never had a "book".  I would buy 10 cents worth of cold meat, maybe some Kool-Aid and a Tasty Cake for Daddy's lunch.  Daddy always took a Tasty Cake in his lunch bucket, usually a Butterscotch Krimpet. 

          Sometimes old Mr. Kluger shuffled around the store.  He was a colorful old gentleman.  He usually wore leather house slippers, a cardigan sweater, and a cap.  In the mornings, he carried a cup of hot water, and each time he sipped, there was a satisfied--aaahhh.

          Kamor's was one of my favorite stores.  This is where I bought penny candy and Dixie ice-cream cups.  Mr. Kamor, a very small man with a hunched back, patiently waited while I chose my candy.  After all I had to decide how my .03 should be spent.  Occasionally my brother and I were treated to Dixie cups.  The underside of the lids sported movie star pictures (Diana Lynn was a favorite).  We collected these pictures.  Sometimes we got lucky and found one or two that some undiscerning person had thrown away.

           Against the back wall of the store was an ice-cream counter.  A variety of ice-cream sundae dishes filled the glass cupboards behind it.  One time I was treated to a sundae with my Aunt Jo, Mom's younger sister who was very worldly.  I felt so grown-up as I sat at the marble and wrought iron ice-cream table eating my sundae.  The fan slowly turned above our heads and the roman-numeraled clock on the wall struck the hour.  It was a time I often re-visit in memory.

          Fetch's Food Store, the best store in town for fresh cut meats, was where I went when my Mom wanted something special.  I didn't like going to Fetch's.  It was so busy, you had to take a number and wait your turn.  As a young person, meat markets held no special fascination for me.

          Shoemaker's was the only store I ever went to with my Dad.  This was his store.  There wasn't anything he couldn't repair or create.  The store not only had essentials (nails, tools, wash tubs, nuts and bolts, saw blades etc.) it had some kitchen essentials (Pyrex bowls and pots and pans).  What a unique store.  Little wooden drawers held a variety of nails, screws, etc.  Each drawer had an identifying item attached to the front so the contents could be easily identified.  Nails were sold by weight.  A large scale with a chute suspended from the dial weighed the nails.  Nuts and bolts sold by the piece.  Being an organized person I took pleasure in the filing systems used by the stores to locate specific items.  Today, in my cupboard, sits a large yellow Pyrex bowl, the last remnant of a Mother's Day set I purchased as a child for my Mom.  I can still see the display in the window.  I just knew Mom would find the set useful, and she did.  Many Sunday dinner soups were served from that bowl.           

The memorable thing about Stapleton's Drug store was the way it smelled.  I suppose the variety of concoctions (prescriptions, liniments, perfumes, etc.) that gave the building its' distinctive, but not offensive, odor.  The old wood and glass phone booth in the back of the store had a unique attraction for me, even though I never got to use it.  I was particularly impressed if someone happened to be using it.  It seemed to be a very grown-up thing to do.  I enjoyed this store, because of the feminine things it housed.  I wasn't able to buy perfume and such, but I loved to look at the different bottle shapes and colors. 

          I was a nail-biter.  I was told if I stopped biting I would be able to buy a bottle of nail polish.  Looking, longingly, at those bottles and knowing I could own one was the incentive I needed to stop biting.  What a thrill when I was told I could buy my first bottle of polish.  It was wonderful to pick up the bottles, check out the colors, and finally decide which bottle would be mine.  'Til today nail polish is a weakness. 

          Russell's!  What a place!  Double dips of ice cream!  All flavors!  A child's wonderland!  I loved chocolate chip. My Mom was partial to Whitehouse cherry. On warm summer nights I would ride my brother's bicycle to get cones for everyone.  Once the ice cream was dipped onto the cones, it was covered with a piece of waxed paper.  Imagine riding one-handed, holding 3-5 ice-cream cones.  By the time I got home, ice cream was dripping down my hand.  I couldn't win.  The heat melted the cones if I rode slowly and the breeze melted the cones if I rode fast.  It really didn't matter; part of a cone was better than none.  There was no ice cream like Russell's.

          I always enjoyed looking in the large windows, which displayed the shoes and dresses, etc. at Kluger's Department Store on Eighth Street.  Only on two occasions did we purchase here. The first purchase was made at carpet weaving time.  We were escorted down into the basement, usually by one of the Kluger brothers.  There we found the brightly colored spools of carpet warp.  Spool after spool tumbled into a shopping bag.  This was the start of a yearly ritual in many families. The second occasion was the start of the school year and the need for a gym suit.  Only Kluger's carried the royal blue gym suits we were required to wear.  When I was very young, Mom made my suits.  It was quite an occasion when she agreed to buy one ready made.  I felt like I had come of age.

          Most families in our town bought the bulk of their groceries at the Acme or the A&P.  Each store had its loyal customers.  We only shopped at the A&P.  On busy shopping days I had to accompany my Mom.  We hand carried our groceries home.  Four large brown bags contained enough groceries for a week.  Mom carried two and I did likewise.  Walking four blocks sometimes felt like fourteen.  What a relief to be able to set down the heavy bags when we finally reached home.          

Stores of necessity and stores of pleasure, they all made an indelible mark on my life.  At any given time, memories can be conjured up and experienced anew.  With age I find I do take these trips more frequently.

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