The photo with this article is a keyring good luck piece. Many will remember these. They were an inexpensive giveaway for businesses in the 1950s and 60s. Today it’s refrigerator magnets.
They are made of aluminum, and made in the shape of a horseshoe. The hole in the center was made for a penny. Speaking of pennies, did you have pennies in your loafers?
On the front: “KEEP ME AND…HAVE GOOD LUCK,” and in smaller letters, “I BRING GOOD LUCK.” On the reverse: “WILBER’S SUPER MKT CHESTER, VT. MON-FRI 9:00 A.M. – 9:00 P.M. SUN 9:00 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.”
The penny is dated 1967.
Wilber’s Market
What is Smitty’s Market today was Wilber’s Market in the 1960s. It was owned by Bob Wilber. Bob ran a competitive store, and hired local kids to work. I was one of those kids.
When back-to-school was nearing, my parents would order my back-to-school clothes from the Sears and Roebuck catalog. I remember standing as my father measured my inseam. “Twenty-eight inches,” he would say. Ma would say, “He’s going to grow, so order a 30-inch inseam.” This was ok when I was younger, but as I looked forward to going to Chester High School in 1965, I was influenced by friends’ clothing. I didn’t have much to say about what my parents ordered.
The summer of ’65, I went to work at Wilber’s. I stocked shelves, bagged groceries, and carried out groceries for customers. I remember learning to bag groceries. I got very good and fast at it. I learned to rotate stock, and how to work with others.
At that time Herbie Hartford, Carol Stearns, Neil Oakes, and Arminala Severance worked there. Arminala was called “Gram” by all of us. She made grinders and such like Bonnie does today. I don’t remember the meat cutter, maybe Wilber.
Working at Wilber’s when I was 14 was my first job where taxes were withheld. I worked all summer and saved my money. When it came time to buy school clothes, I bought my own. For the first time I had new clothes that I liked. At the time, teenagers like me liked the blue work shirts. Do you remember them? With a dark blue sweatshirt, the collar of the work shirt came out over the sweatshirt, classy. I bought clothes at Paul’s Economy in Springfield, and Rockdale’s in Bellows Falls. No more Sears for me.
John Butler
I remember John Butler coming in. One time he carried out two bags of groceries. John was an odd duck. When he got to his Suburban, he set the bags on the hood to open the rear door. Picking up both bags he went to put them in the truck, but the door closed on him before he got the groceries in. Puzzled, John put the bags back on the hood to open the rear door again.
Once again the door closed. John stood there thinking. Eventually he picked up one bag and opened the door with his other hand. That worked. Do you remember the hood ornament John had? It was a chrome figure of a horse. One rainy day he went to the Country Girl. When he got out of his truck, he put a wooden box over the horse hood ornament.
Back to Wilber’s
One memory has stayed with me all these years. It was a slow Sunday. Bob asked me to clean out the meat case. The meat case stood where it is today. I took out all of the meats, hamburg, pork chops, etc. Under the trays of meat were sheets of white paper. These I removed. Under the papers were wire racks. These were similar to the wire racks in old refrigerators. These I removed.
Down in the bottom of the meat case were all kinds of disgustings. Not knowing what to do, I asked Bob what he wanted me to do with them. “Throw them in the sausage barrel.”
This week’s old saying is from my father. “There is only one thing you can give and still keep, and that’s your word.”