Howard Herron Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

Howard Herron 2 9
Q: Was she from around here?
A: Yes, her father ran a saloon.
(2: That takes quite a bit of talent playing one of those pianos?
A: Louise was . . . .
Q: Did she play fast?
A: Yes, she was pretty good at it though. And there used to be a Chili
Parlor on the south side of the square. I'd go in there, by the livery
stable, old John Isaac had a saloon and Sug Armstrong had a chili parlor
there. Just a little narrow place on the sidewalk. Had stools in there
and a little table. Tables like booths and he made good chili too. Gave
ten cents for a bowl of chili.
Q: Describe what the inside of a grocery store looked like when you were
real young.
A: Well, this Wineman store I was telling you about had four clerks and
a bookkeeper and you'd come in the store and tell the clerk what you
wanted and he would go get it for you and he would weigh it on the
scales. They had a barrel of sauerkraut and a barrel of pickles and
sacks of potatoes and they had two delivery wagons. One for the east
side of town and one for the west. The people would call, if they had a
phone, or they would send their children down and list the groceries they
want. They'd fill them all up and charge them and you'd go in on pay
day. Most of the people worked in the mine here or the game farm, and
they would, about 10:OO in the morning well, the east side would start
out with his route and the west side would start out with his route and
then when the dad would go to pay the grocery bill, the kids that were
along would get a sack of candy.
Q: Oh, what kind of candy?
A: Oh, Christmas candy mostly, ordinary candy. They didn't have it
wrapped like that. They had trays in there, a showcase to keep the flies
off.
Q: Did you have licorice?
A: Licorice whip, and when they had . . . .
Q:
What was your favorite kind of candy?
A: They had a butcher shop and he didn't sell nothing but meat and if
you were going to town, a kid would say, "Are you going to the market, to
the butchers, can I go with you?" Well, if you get twenty cents worth of
beef steak, it would be enough for three or four people and the butcher
would give you a weenie and if a kid would come in he would get a weenie
too.