Hi Nancy,

 NB>  RH>> You can always Google to find out. (G) IIRC, they were the first
 NB>  RH>> store to have shopping carts and brown grocery bags.
 NB>  NB>> One could Google, anyway...  I'd've thought A&P likely to have
 NB>  NB>> had the first carts and brown bags, though.... I suppose they
 NB>  NB>> might have come up with them about the same time...   I don't
 NB>  NB>> remember any major grocery stores without them, to be honest...
 NB> 

 RH> I've always known them from the time I could remember.

 NB> So any knowledge of who might have been first would be from some
 NB> store's claims, not from actual knowledge...

IIRC, they were invented somewhere in the early part of the 20th
century. Can't tell you exactly when, but somehow this seems to stick in
my memory.


 NB>  NB>> I was still fairly young when we moved to MS... I remember
 NB> roller  NB>> skating down to the corner store in Crawfordsville IN,
 NB> though...
 NB>  NB>> to pick up bread or such... I was no more than 5 there...  

 RH> I wasn't allowed to go to the store by myself until somewhat older but
 RH> the store was more of a distance from where we lived. Road (no
 RH> sidewalks until we got to town proper) wasn't condusive for skating
 RH> either, had we the skates. (G)

 NB> Mommy had 2-3 younger children (one an infant, if it were 3), and
 NB> Daddy off at the college... besides, the store was closer than the
 NB> school I

The stores were further away from where we lived, on the other side of
the school, in more the middle of town (small town of about 800 people).
The first few years my parents lived in the area, they rented a house
across the street from where they eventually built a house. The rental
was just outside village limits so when my brother started school, he
was bussed. The school kept up with the bussing when we moved across the
street, inside the village limits, but if we stayed after for
activities, walking home was not a problem.

 NB> walked to for kindergarten... we did have sidewalks, but, as I recall,
 NB> there was a bit of a hill, downhill to the store...  As to school, one
 NB> day I brought my 3-y-o sister with me (it was a special day when we
 NB> were encouraged to bring a family member, as I recall).... I had to

You probably gave your parents a good scare there. (G)


 NB> cross one busy street, there was a crossing guard/policeman there to
 NB> get me across safely... 

And the guard didn't think it unusual for you to have a younger sibling
with you?


 RH> Had a mom and pop grocery store, A&P & Victory Market in town for
 RH> the longest time, then two were closed down. A&P was sold out to
 RH> another chain (Freshtown) some years ago, can't say the store is
 RH> much of any better for the change.

 NB> They all tend to be a lot alike, in most cases....    I have vague
 NB> memories at best of the specific stores, now... but then we were only
 NB> in IN for 2 years, and then in MS for 4... and Jackson MS was a pretty
 NB> big place, even then.... 

I lived in M'ville until I went to college, then was in and out for 4
years. Got married, moved away and have been back off and on since. When
Freshtown took over the A&P, people there were complaining about the
higher prices. Steve and I shopped there a number of times, found the
prices about the same as we pay here in NC. Guess it's just a matter of
perspective.


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... 90% of being smart is knowing what you're dumb at.

--- PPoint 3.01
 * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)