i. the old-time grocer

“wallace, light another candle, please. i cannot see very well,” said mr. duwell as he sat smiling at the head of the dining table, with carving knife lifted ready to carve the roast.

wallace turned on another electric light, and everybody laughed.

“that’s a good guess, son,” said his mother. “on my grandfather’s farm they always burned candles, and grandmother made them herself.”

[123]

“made them herself!” exclaimed ruth.

“yes,” replied her mother. “i have often seen the candle moulds. they looked like a row of tin tubes fastened together. the wicks were hung in the middle of the tubes, and the melted tallow was poured in around them. when the candles were hard and cold, they were slipped out ready for use.”

“your grandmother must have been smart. what relation was she to me?” asked ruth.

“your great-grandmother, dear. she was ‘smart,’ indeed. she made not only candles, but soap.”

“soap!” said ruth in surprise.

“yes, and butter,” said mrs. duwell.

“your great-grandfather was ‘smart,’ too,” said mr. duwell. “why, wallace, he butchered a pig or two, and sometimes a cow in the fall for the winter’s meat.”

“weren’t there any grocers or butchers?” asked wallace.

“yes, indeed; your great-grandmother was the grocer, and your great-grandfather was the butcher for the family.”

“but weren’t there any stores?”

“yes, the stores were in the big kitchen pantry, the cellar, and the ice-house.”

[124]

“i mean grocery stores like parker’s, and wiggin’s,” explained wallace.

“no, until the towns and villages sprang up there were no stores such as we have now,” said mr. duwell. “you see, there were not many people to buy things in the early days, and they lived on farms many miles apart, so it did not pay anyone to keep a store.

“why is the grocery so useful to everybody?” he asked.

“because it sells food.”

“that is it. you see, when enough people lived in one place to make a village or town, some one opened a store. now, how did he get flour to sell?”

“from the miller.”

“right—and potatoes?”

“from the farmer.”

“yes, the miller brought flour and the farmer brought potatoes to the grocer for him to sell.”

“and when grandma made more butter than she could use she sent it to the grocer,” added mrs. duwell.

“where did the grocer get his stock of brooms, ruth?” asked her father.

“from the broom-maker.”

“that is the idea. all who grew or made[125] more things than they could use brought them to the grocer to be sold. so the grocer helped them and they helped him, and the people went to the store for their supplies.

“you must remember, children,” went on mr. duwell, “the old-fashioned country store was very different from parker’s grocery around the corner. besides groceries, it sold harness, horse blankets, hardware, shoes, and everything people needed.”

ii. the modern grocer

“suppose wallace were a grocer, ruth, how would you like his store to be kept?” asked her mother.

“clean—oh, so clean!” replied ruth.

“yes, what else?”

“full of shelves with all the packages and bottles and other things in their places.”

“how would you treat the people, wallace?” asked mrs. duwell.

“i would be very polite, and try to have every article they wanted fresh and good.”

“that is right, and i know you would be honest and truthful.”

“if you were that kind of grocer, wallace,” said mr. duwell, “you would be of real service to the people.”

[126]

“what kind of customers would you like to have, wallace?” asked mrs. duwell.

“oh, people who paid their bills on time and didn’t find too much fault,” answered wallace.

“well,” said ruth, “if you were anything like that, your customers would certainly call you the spotless grocer.”

woman standing at counter

questions

think of all the extra work your mother and father would have to do if there were no grocery stores. is there one near your house? are you glad?

what kind of grocery store do you like?

what kind of grocer do you like to deal with?

try playing store, and pretend that your customers will not pay their bills and that the men from whom you buy come to insist on your paying them. what will happen?

if you were a real grocer, would you like that to happen?

can you think of some other ways you can help the grocer besides paying your bills promptly?