Home Deliveries
Back in the 50's, you could get many services via home delivery and never leave your house. I'm not sure if there were delivery charges attached, or if it was just included in the cost of doing business (as I was too young to pay bills back then :-)).
Our most common delivery was milk. We used Sealtest. The Sealtest truck was a grayish mauve color with a reddish/cranberry Sealtest logo, as I recall. The driver always stood up to drive (which I found very weird). We had a milkbox at the side step. Our standard order was three quarts of white milk and one quart of chocolate (for Barb - she wouldn't drink milk at all unless it was chocolate). Every once in awhile mom would get cottage cheese. They had specials in pretty containers of different types - I remember one that came in sparkly plastic glasses that you could keep for drinking glasses when the cottage cheese was gone. My Grandma Schick got her milk from Driggs. It never tasted the same. The Driggs truck was yellow with a cow on it. They did have really good ice cream, though.
We also had the Nickles breadman. I'm not sure how often he came - I think it was a couple of times a week. We always got Nickles bread and the glazed doughnuts were absolutely wonderful!
We had a Charles Chip man for a short time. Charles Chips, which are still available at Kazmaiers (and not as good as I remember them to be) came in a big can, which you recycles when it was empty. They also had Charles Pretzels, too. I'm sure I'm still carrying some Charles Chip fat in my stomach :-(.
I mentioned the Fordham's Grocery deliveries before. We would walk down to the grocery store on occasion, but we mostly got groceries delivered. Grocery stores back then did NOT have all the fancy items they have now. The local store was famous for good meats and good basic services. I don't remember too much about the store itself, other than that was the first place I ever had Land-o-Lakes Cheese. It was really really good. Mom would get a triangular piece of cheddar wrapped in cellophane with the LOL logo on it every once in awhile. It was wonderful cheese.
Bobb's Cleaners also made pick-ups and deliveries. My dad had to wear suits to work so this was a necessary service. Back in those days people dressed up for work and to go downtown shopping. I'm sure dry cleaners were in their hey-day back in those days. Bobb's was located on S. Detroit near S. Byrne Rd. They closed a few years ago and the store is the site where the controversial carry-out is supposed to go in. There hasn't been anything in the Blade lately, so I don't know if the guy chickened out after all the neighborhood hoopla.
We also had a huckster, which is what my mom called Eddie the vegetable man. Eddie went to high school with my mom. He sold fruits and vegetables during the summer and drove a heating oil delivery truck in the winter time. He also let my mom run a tab and visited every other day during the summer. We got sweet corn, strawberries, apples, celery, carrots, and other fruits and veggies from him. He would go to the downtown farmer's market early in the morning to get his wares and then travel all over South Toledo in his old converted white truck that had a bell and a scale hanging on the back corner.
I think that about covers home deliveries. These seem like luxuries now, but in pre-supermarket days, they were necessities. Supermarkets really didn't come into their own until the late 50's and early 60's. This was still the time of corner and neighborhood stores with the local butcher putting the meat on the table. My grandmother (dad's mom) always used Buck's Grocery store on Glendale (used to be Lark's until it closed). She always had fancy rolled rib roasts for Christmas dinner. I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid. I can't imagine what they would cost now. A big standing rib costs over $50 or more. The rolled rib had the bones cut out and rolled up so you could slice it without worrying about the bones. They were delicious!
Our most common delivery was milk. We used Sealtest. The Sealtest truck was a grayish mauve color with a reddish/cranberry Sealtest logo, as I recall. The driver always stood up to drive (which I found very weird). We had a milkbox at the side step. Our standard order was three quarts of white milk and one quart of chocolate (for Barb - she wouldn't drink milk at all unless it was chocolate). Every once in awhile mom would get cottage cheese. They had specials in pretty containers of different types - I remember one that came in sparkly plastic glasses that you could keep for drinking glasses when the cottage cheese was gone. My Grandma Schick got her milk from Driggs. It never tasted the same. The Driggs truck was yellow with a cow on it. They did have really good ice cream, though.
We also had the Nickles breadman. I'm not sure how often he came - I think it was a couple of times a week. We always got Nickles bread and the glazed doughnuts were absolutely wonderful!
We had a Charles Chip man for a short time. Charles Chips, which are still available at Kazmaiers (and not as good as I remember them to be) came in a big can, which you recycles when it was empty. They also had Charles Pretzels, too. I'm sure I'm still carrying some Charles Chip fat in my stomach :-(.
I mentioned the Fordham's Grocery deliveries before. We would walk down to the grocery store on occasion, but we mostly got groceries delivered. Grocery stores back then did NOT have all the fancy items they have now. The local store was famous for good meats and good basic services. I don't remember too much about the store itself, other than that was the first place I ever had Land-o-Lakes Cheese. It was really really good. Mom would get a triangular piece of cheddar wrapped in cellophane with the LOL logo on it every once in awhile. It was wonderful cheese.
Bobb's Cleaners also made pick-ups and deliveries. My dad had to wear suits to work so this was a necessary service. Back in those days people dressed up for work and to go downtown shopping. I'm sure dry cleaners were in their hey-day back in those days. Bobb's was located on S. Detroit near S. Byrne Rd. They closed a few years ago and the store is the site where the controversial carry-out is supposed to go in. There hasn't been anything in the Blade lately, so I don't know if the guy chickened out after all the neighborhood hoopla.
We also had a huckster, which is what my mom called Eddie the vegetable man. Eddie went to high school with my mom. He sold fruits and vegetables during the summer and drove a heating oil delivery truck in the winter time. He also let my mom run a tab and visited every other day during the summer. We got sweet corn, strawberries, apples, celery, carrots, and other fruits and veggies from him. He would go to the downtown farmer's market early in the morning to get his wares and then travel all over South Toledo in his old converted white truck that had a bell and a scale hanging on the back corner.
I think that about covers home deliveries. These seem like luxuries now, but in pre-supermarket days, they were necessities. Supermarkets really didn't come into their own until the late 50's and early 60's. This was still the time of corner and neighborhood stores with the local butcher putting the meat on the table. My grandmother (dad's mom) always used Buck's Grocery store on Glendale (used to be Lark's until it closed). She always had fancy rolled rib roasts for Christmas dinner. I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid. I can't imagine what they would cost now. A big standing rib costs over $50 or more. The rolled rib had the bones cut out and rolled up so you could slice it without worrying about the bones. They were delicious!
posted by bactitech at
1:04 AM
1 Comments:
It's interesting that now supermarkets are delivering groceries at home. We can get just about anything delivered. It's almost like all things old are coming new again.
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