Mom And Pop Shops Almost Gone But Not Forgotten
Posted: Friday, May 09, 2008
by Joel Hendon
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What Happened? What has happened to change the world so? I celebrated my 20th birthday in 1950, shortly after my Dad passed away on his 60th birthday from leukemia. The town of Piedmont, Alabama had grown from a rural crossroads community called "Hollow Stump" in the early 1840's to be named later as "Griffen's Creek" with a registered post office by that name. It was named a short time later by a land purchaser as "Cross Plains" and bore that name and post office until 1888 when it officially became known as Piedmont, meaning "foot of the mountains".
You see, the post WW2 years (1946 to 1950) were years of change. The cost of the war ending in 1945 and now the beginning of the Korean war had brought on a boom of manufacturing and increased wages that were unimaginable. Inflation was leaping upwards but people really didn't mind because wages were also climbing. Except for the old boys who were dying in Korea, the country was in a period of good times and expansion of about everything.
But something happened in Piedmont somewhere around 1949, the first large chain grocery store opened in the town. Up until that time, almost everything in town with the exception of the manufacturing firms and one of the theaters, were owned by local families. But here comes a Quik-Chek Grocery, a modern serve-yourself grocery store, of the Winn-Dixie organization from Florida. It remained for a number of years as one by one the family stores dropped out. Until finally there were only two grocery stores left. One enterprising merchant became affiliated with a multiple store provider and became a strong competitor for the then named Winn-Dixie store, which eventually became unprofitable and was sold to an individual. These two stores remain and are very competitive with each other and with large chain stores in neighboring towns.
With improved state and county road systems which also gave shoppers of clothing and other merchandise access to large retail stores in the clothing, hardware and other lines and so those stores began suffering and closing. Large chains and conglomerates continued to increase year by year until most of the family owned businesses disappeared. Of the two banks in town, one changed ownership a couple of times and is now a branch of one of the largest banking corporations in the nation. The other is still home owned but has, itself, expanded into several branches in this county. Most of the towns eateries are fast food chain stores although 2 or 3 small home owned ones remains and one home owned franchise holder of a large chain cafe.
A few months after I turned 20, I was drafted in to the army (April 1951), and saw little of Piedmont for the next two years. But, even though the home owned businesses were disappearing, I didn't give it much thought and was pleased to see the improvement in merchandise selection, competitive prices, and so on, available through the chain stores. Then with the advent of K-Mart, followed by Walmart, I suddenly began to realize that you never knew anyone who owned a business anymore. All only worked for some large company. When one takes the time to stop and think about it, it is absolutely amazing what transformation took place in America in two short decades. From about 1945 to 1965, it just became a different world. Sad, in a way, but simply a phenomena to be expected in a progressive society, a growing population and high technological advances. Consider the population increase:
In 1950, the world population was 2,556,000,053. In just sixty years, 2010, it is estimated that the number will be 6,848,932,929 around 150% increase. During that same period, the United States grew from 151,325,798 to an estimated 309,162,581, over 100% increase. As our population grows, we, of pure necessity, must have food, clothing, housing and supplies to match our growth. The volume increase means a change in production methods and distribution methods. And as affluence increases, we demand more and better of all those things than we once had on an individual basis. Actually the old methods would not be sufficient. You once entered a store and depended upon the proprietor to round you up a can of pork and beans, then cut you 6 pork chops and weigh up a couple of pounds of rice while two other customers stood patiently waiting for their turn. Now a couple of hundred customers can cruise the aisles with their shopping carts to their hearts content.
We hear a lot of people criticize Walmart for driving the little man out of business. And working people for low wages. It does seem bad. But, once again it is the demand of the times. They are only doing what it takes to satisfy millions of consumers. But the founder of that giant company started out much smaller than many similar businesses did who have long since gone down the drain. I personally think they are wonderful. I have always been a stickler when looking for a particular item or brand and their stores are much more likely to have exactly what I want than any other store that I am aware of. And the price is always extremely competitive. A good example of their pricing is something that I learned soon after they appeared in this area. I have had a habit of gargling every night and morning with Listerine, even before it started tasting good. I always bought it at Walmart in the largest size they had, seems like about a liter. But once when I ran out and stopped at a local drug store to buy a bottle, to my dismay, a bottle less than half the size I had been buying was over a dollar more than the much bigger bottle at Walmart. I now try to never run out.
As we grow old, everything in the old days seems dearer than it actually was. I long for many of the old ways and items but let me be very clear, those memories are deceiving. I know if I were placed back in the Army in the early 1950's, I'd be miserably homesick as I was then. I would do without a lot of things that I now relish in. I miss a lot of them, and seriously, it was good times, but we can never go back and I'm not sure we would be as happy as we think, if we did.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)When I was going to university roughly some 30 years ago I worked in the summer as a milkman for Sealtest Dairies. At that time, over 30 years ago, The smaller mom and pop variety stores were laughed at by the younger members of my business administraion class. They predicted (wrongly) that the smaller Seven -Eleven outlets would merely be a passing fancy. Much to their surprise these "mom and pop" type of entrepreneurial establishments survived and today still meet those emergency customer expectations that usually crop up on the weekend when the larger malls are closed. I tip my hat to the modern day mom and pop store owner who can still compete on an almost level playing field. Their customer related service and interactions with their steady customers draws rings around the mega malls anyday.Yes, I too appreciate those who have hung in there. The bad part about most of the small convenience stores here in this area are chains also! Some are not and I salute them. Thanks for the comments.
Good evening, Mr. Hendon. I enjoyed reminiscing as I read your article. I remember even in the 70s in Colorado Springs my mom went to a family owned meat market for our meat, the bread store (part of a large chain) and made many other stops just for our weekly provisions. There are things about it I miss, but I also like Wal-Mart and the availability of so many products in one place. It wasn't that long ago that Wal-Mart boasted carrying "Made in America" products in its appeal to win the masses. Now, I challenge you to try to find things made in the US at the store. Kinda makes you wonder if we have "progressed" ourselves into a bad situation. Good article, as usual.Yes, you are so right LM, but actually these are two different items. Walmart honestly did try to purchase American made goods for several years, but after the signing of all those Free Trade agreements, the American worker had no possible chance of competing with those Asian countries where salaries were far less than a dollar per day. And as our companies folded, Walmart had no choice if they were to furnish us with a full line of products. I'm not a Hillary man but she is looking better all the time to me. She is the only one (that I have seen) who says she will re-negotiate NAFTA and the other agreements. But that isn't enough, the agreements ought to be rescinded and tariffs placed on products to give the American worker a level playing field. Thanks for reading and commenting. It is always a pleasure to read your comments.I am 100% with you about the Free Trade. Our society's progression has left us ill-prepared to manufacture what we need or desire. I recently found a website that talked about how much America exports in raw state only to have it refined or manufactured into what we use, then we import it back. This includes crude oil, though not in great quantities. But, now I have to wonder what would happen economically if Free Trade was rescinded.
As far as Hillary goes, she scares me. All three of the front running candidates scare me. As naive as it sounds, I will vote for the one that most views life as a precious thing. I think that is where you see the heart of the candidate.Yes, I agree on all points. I won't vote for Hillary, but I like her approach to that particular point. As to what would happen if the FreeTrade was rescinded... I fear havoc would occur temporarily, but I believe we are smothered in immigrants who could at least pay their own way with some of the jobs that would blossom. Thanks again for your comments. Joel
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