B2B Markeplace

When I was a young girl, it was a treat to go to the store on Saturday afternoon. The best part of the trip was always the visit to at the candy counter at the “ten-cent store,” which was Kresge’s. The candy counter was a rectangular arrangement that we could walk around to see all of the bulk candy in the bins behind the glass. This was before the day of digital scales ,but they were actuallyprice computing scales. The clerk behind the candy counter would scoop out our choice of candy and drop it into the bowl on the scale. Then the needle would move over to the weight of the candy. Under the weight was a total price for each per-pound price. The clerk would then pour the candy into a small white paper bag and hand it to my mom.

These Saturday trips to the store would come in the late afternoon, after our mom washed my sister’s and my hair. She would dress us up in a cute little dress, and my dad would drive us to the shopping area. She loved to show us off. Often, people in the store would comment on our shiny blonde hair, and she felt pride in having two cute daughters.

In the store, she would let us “go look at the toys.” Mom was very strict about us not touching the toys, but we still loved to go off by ourselves and look at the toys. To make sure we didn’t touch anything, she told us to keep our hands behind our backs. Even now, I find myself walking through the store with my hands behind my back, although now I touch everything. I can’t recall ever feeling a great desire to have everything I saw. I was just happy to look. Occasionally she would buy some little trinket such as a coloring book or paperdoll set.

While we were cruising the toy department, she would be close by, doing some looking herself and buying what she needed. Kresge’s was full of interesting things to look at, from sewing notions to kitchen implements to handkerchiefs. When she was finished with her shopping, she would come to retrieve us.

Then it would be time to visit the best place of all, the candy counter. The candy counter had a lot of different kinds of bulk candy. There were things like jelly beans and gum drops, but we liked the chocolate best. Sometimes it would be M&Ms, sometimes it would be those flat round chocolates with the white sprinkles, but usually she would choose our favorite: bridge mix. We liked to have all those different flavors to choose from. I liked soft ones, my sister liked peanuts, and my dad preferred the caramels. Mom usually asked for twenty-five cents’ worth, just the right amount for a Saturday evening treat.

When the clerk handed her the bag, we would walk out of the store, where we would meet Daddy, who would then drive us home so Mom could cook Saturday supper.