Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Market

The corner market. Growing up every corner had at least one. We had a couple, the bigger Red and White, the precursor to the larger places like the A&P that moved a few years later and Carbone's Market. It was packed with everything a mom would want, if in the middle of  supper preparation something in the recipe went missing. I went there for just a couple things the penny candy and the Italian sandwiches. If it was chewy and cherry or orange flavored, it was probably leaving with me. Old man Carbone had a deal on his sandwiches 35¢ for one 3 for a dollar. On special nights, Mom would splurge and buy us all Italians. That was special. The market was truly a mom and pop store too. Mr. and Mrs C- were the sole employees for the most part, but every once in awhile their beautiful black-haired teenage daughter would be behind the counter. On those days, this 12 year old would linger just a few minutes longer making his candy selections. 
"I'll take two cherry licorice sticks and a couple of the orange slices and, ah..."

20 comments:

  1. You're funny, Birdman. We had a family owned market near town, but it was a bit bigger than this. How on earth do you remember prices from so long ago? Your memory is amazing.

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  2. when we lived on the eastern prom i headed into colucci's nearly every day. looks like you caught it on a snowy morning.

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  3. The corner mom and pop store is alive and well in México with a tienda or two in every neighborhood. Couldn't survive in that country without them. We lost something when these places slowly disappeared. I see them now and then in St. Paul in neighborhoods heavily populated by immigrants.

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  4. Colucci was the name of one of the most famous comic french artists , Michel Collucci, known as Coluche( died in 1986). Interesting to find that name in your neighborhood..

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  5. I do remember corner markets but I lived in the boonies so the corner was quite a way away!

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  6. our corner store had a great pop cooler that you slid open the top and then you found a whole tub of bottles sitting in water and ice. So cold and so wonderful on a summer day. Most of the old corner stores here have become residential.

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  7. And the butcher cut the meat and wrapped it in paper for your mom , right?
    V

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    1. Bingo! I remember the freshly cut baloney. A scrumptious smell in the brown paper wrapper.

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  8. I remember a corner store in Duluth, Minnesota. We'd stop on our way to school and buy pieces of candy for 1 cent each. We'd also buy candy cigarettes. But they weren't as good as the real thing! ;)

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  9. When my sisters and I were little kids we had a corner store ritual. Our grandfather would take us almost every day to each get 5 cents worth of candy. We could get 5 penny pieces or we could get 1 five cent piece like a Hershey bar or Necco's. Imagine that, a Hershey bar for 5 cents.

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  10. Universal and your own. Excellent post.....LOVE that pic of my past too



    ALOHA from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral
    ~ > < } } ( ° > <3
    > < } } ( ° >
    > < 3 3 3 ( ' >

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  11. That is now my Desk Top background!

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  12. Mmmm, I smell hot bread and ham and olive oil and . . .

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  13. Oh those sole proprietor stores -- great memories. A single old Italian lady ran the one in my neighborhood -- we called it Mary's store. Even carried credit if you needed it. Like the store photo! -- barbara

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  14. I used to know someone with that name.

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  15. I wonder if the Carbone family is still around. We have DiPitro's in SoPo, but it's not quite the same...

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  16. LOVE that... I'll bet they have good sausage...

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  17. I think you can till find a few of these small corner stores here, especially in the older, trendier neighbourhoods.

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