One of the things I remember was the meat market owned and operated
by Mr. John Raulston. It was located
about where the Masonic Lodge Hall
now stands. This must have been the first time my mother sent me to the
market all by myself; because it left quite an impression on me. She gave
me a quarter (which looked like a large piece of money then) and told me
to go to Mr. Raulston's Meat Market and buy a quarter's worth of steak.
As I stood and watched Mr. Raulston cut the meat, everything looked so big!
The chopping block was one of the biggest I had ever seen. To this day,
I can still remember that big chopping block. The knives he used were big
also, much bigger than the ones we had at home. He also used a large cleaver
and saw to cut through the bone of the meat. As I continued to look around
the shop; I could see the delicious display of assorted cookies. We didn't
buy many cookies back then. That was a long time before junk food days.
When Mr. Raulston had finished cutting the meat; he pulled a heavy paper
through a dispenser that cut the paper off at the length needed. He wrapped
the meat and then pulled a string through a cone shaped dispenser to tie
the package. Another thing I can remember about the meat market, one could
buy a nickel or dimes worth of cheese and crackers. Mr. Raulston would slice
the cheese, reach into the cracker barrel and get out a handful or two of
loose crackers. He would then wrap them all together in the heavy paper
and tie with the string.
Mabel Sewell Hill