![]() The odor of fresh and not so fresh fruit permeated the walls and the creaking wood floor. Next door to the fish store was a produce store called Freshįruit. Whenever he could, Grandfather Frenzel collected fish offal from the store to fertilize his garden. Whole fish lay glistening on bins of ice. He had no visible neck but a wide mouth and fleshy lips that to my nine year old eyes resembled the black and white photograph of a giant grouper in my “American Wildlife” book. His thick body was topped by a large head that sat directly on his shoulders, his lower jaw slouching forward. Liebert operated Liebert’s Fish Store Thursdays through Sundays, wearing a blood stained dingy white apron. There were a couple of dingy glass cases with a few dusty old candy bars scattered about. ![]() Calling it a candy store is, of course, a misnomer. Once or twice a week it was my task to carry a couple of coins or dollars to Dutch’s to play the numbers for my father. My mother’s teeth were gone by the time she was thirty-three.Īcross the street from the dentist there was a disreputable little candy store run by a man named Dutch. It was common for young adults in the neighborhood to sport a full set of false teeth by the time they reached forty. The absence of any equipment for cleaning, drilling or filling indicated that his skill leaned toward pulling teeth that were causing a problem. The neighborhood dentist occupied an office over Kelso’s Drug Store. All of them sold cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco. Koerner, in his clean white apron, was our main source for those little wax cigarettes that contained colored syrup and for the Sen Sen our fathers used to mask their breath after a binge. Koerner’s Bakery, complete with polished wooden booths, sold Breyer’s Ice Cream and fresh baked bread, cakes, éclairs, cream donuts, jelly donuts, cookies and candy. The daughter bore a large port wine stain birthmark across her face. Both wore dark overcoats and they always seemed to be together. The store was operated by a mysterious mother and daughter pair who seldom spoke. Take-A-Boost, a dark and often empty shop, sold a soft drink that looked like root beer but had a fruity flavor. Many adolescents attributed pimples blooming across their cheeks to Wellsie’s rich chocolate milkshakes. Teenagers congregated there to have a lemon-lime soda or double-decker ice cream cone and play the pinball machine. Wells Fountain at 27th and Hayes Avenue sold candy, pretzels, Tastykakes, pickles, potato chips and chewing gum to the students at Veterans Memorial Junior High School, just around the corner. In warm weather the crowd moved to the corner outside, smoking cigarettes and shooting the breeze after work or on weekends. The chatty young man in a soda jerk hat behind the gleaming wooden soda fountain bar served milkshakes and ice cream sodas to the young fathers who hung out there. ![]() Kelso’s Drug Store sold patent medicines along with prescription drugs. There were four soda fountains in the two blocks between River Road and Hayes Avenue, all of which made a good living for the owners. Each store had its own distinctive odor and atmosphere. Some were Jews who had fled persecution in Europe or Russia. Most of the shops were operated by husband and wife teams who lived in apartments above their businesses. ![]() During the 1940s and early 1950s, 27th Street was a thriving shopping district. ![]()
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