Moletteri’s Shoe Store was at 1909 W. 3rd Street; it was locat- ed directly across the street. My father helped Pat Moletteri get started with a small loan. Maugher’s Drug Store & Soda Fountain was located at 1929 W. 3rd St. Adding bubbles to
The American Stores Company (Acme) had bright yellow grocery stores located all over town. Many foods, if not most, we take for granted today, did not exist back then. If they did exist, it would have been in different forms. For instance, there was no packaged butter. Butter was scooped and sold from an open tub. There were also no canned soups. In fact, I can’t remember anything that was canned. All food needed to be cooked or prepared in some way. Beans were loose; sugar was scooped and weighed. Supermarkets were a long way off into the future and had not even been invented yet. You could not buy milk or cream at the grocery store. They were delivered by a milkman. You could not buy meat either. That was sold at a butcher shop. Many Jews were Kosher, so their meats had to be purchased from specialized butcher shops. We were not Kosher in our house, but my parents still bought meats from Kosher stores whenever they could. The Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., known by its more common name, The A & P Store, was a bright red grocery store with locations all over the Unit- ed States; they operated like the Acme, except their claim to fame was coffee. Every A & P had a huge, bright-red coffee grinder. All coffee was ground fresh. The aroma of freshly ground coffee floated right out of the front door of the store making it very enticing for anybody nearby to come in. Oser’s Bakery was at 3rd and Palmer. Every morning for years, I went across the street for three snowflake rolls, all for a nickel. I always smeared them with butter, folded and dunked them into hot cocoa. While picking them up, I was confronted with every kind of sumptuous temptation. I always ogled but could never afford them.
Pat Moletteri
water to make soda began in drug stores after prohi- bition got people thinking about alternative drinks. The nearby Barber Shop sold haircuts for 15 cents, but my mother made me walk an extra mile where it was only 10 cents. The barber always used tonic on my hair when he finished. Doctor Grey’s Office was also on our street. He was our medical doctor. I remember one visit as a little boy. The fee was two dollars, including medi- cine, bandages, etc. During those years, there was always a fear of things like infantile paralysis, small- pox, pneumonia, and measles. Blood poisoning and diarrhea were worrisome dangers, too. During the Thirties, sulfa drugs had been invent- ed and became the miracle drug of that time to help fight infections. When I was a medic, sulfa was the drug of choice for preventing infections. It was not until well into the war years that penicillin became available. At first, it was scarce and only available to the Armed Forces. In the army, we mixed penicillin with shaving cream. It showed great promise. Lindenbaum Real Estate rented our home to us. Mr. Lindenbaum was very friendly with my father. He got my dad interested in real estate.
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Felton Fire Company with Shooster’s Drive-in in the background
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