Wisconsin Forums

[Hawkins]

Since you all seem so down, and it's April 1st, I decided you all need a little chearing up.
So here goes, to set the stage, a very long time ago, before mini-malls and Super stores and what have you. Communities, especially in large metropolitan areas were made of of small stores on a main street somewhere.
On Saturday's Mom's and Grandma's went shopping from store to store, butcher shops,bakeries,vegetables,in our neighborhood we had a poultry store, normally they would have one main grocery store, which back in the day was either Jewel Tea, National Tea, or A&P. Most areas had one little store that carried a good variety of things and stayed open maybe an hour longer in case you forgot something. Oh yeah, the little stores you could use your account, in case your Mom didn't give you enough money. During that time, most Dad's worked on Saturday and took the one car to work, so Mom would use public transportation to get places she needed to get to.
No stores; when I was a kid stayed open on Sunday. When Moms wanted the little bit older kids out of the way, she would give you 20 cents and you could go to the Satuday Matinee for a couple of hours at the local theatre, they had on going serial movies, mine and my cousin David were the cowboy ones.We wanted to be train & stagecoach robbers; one Sat. on our way home, I notice the little old ladies going home from shopping with their two wheeled shopping carts sort of reminded me of stage coaches and trains.
So the following Sat I had a brain storm, we didn't buy any popcorn at the matinee instead at the Haberdashery store we bought two large hankerchiefs for a nickel a piece, our disguises in order we set our plan in motion. One kid would run up tap an old ladies shopping cart and take off running, the other kid would steal the box of cookies, most times always on the top(oh yeah;you go to jail for stealing money) we would meet back at my house and share our ill gotten gain. This was going great, until I started getting a guilty conscience, as I was the one doing all the stealing. I told my cousin Dave, "it's your turn to do some of the dirty work" (like one sin was more or less than the other.) That was the day I found out the difference between a Public school education and a Catholic school education. Dave didn't read all that well, he stole a box of feminine hygiene products(don't ask me what use a little old lady would have for these things; I was only six.) But not being a wastefull child I had to figure out something to do with them. So in the house I go, got an old hoola hoop, sawed it in half, and a box of my Mom's straight pins, and we had blow guns. They could shoot around corners, or straight up in the air without moving your head.We were having a great time with our new weapons of mass destruction, until all the things were out of our reach.
They were up in tree's and tall shrubs all over my block. So I told my cousin Dave, as it was his screw up that got us into this mess, to go to Sharkey's(our corner store) sign my Mom's name and get some more of these things. ( I gave him the box) Well low and behold, Sharkeys didn't carry that particular brand, so the lady gave him different ones. They were like huge bandages, again my brain went into action, back into the house, get a bottle of catsup.
Ta, ta, ta da, we're going to play war, there were so many of the darn things we had to go get more kids. Now; my Mom and my Aunt come home, they looked around the block, said what in the world, and began chasing kids they didn't even know. Snatching these things off their heads, arms, and legs. I was in the house for a week, my cousin David got off much easier, his Mom said she couldn't stand being couped up with him inside for a week. And they wouldn't let us go to the matinee the rest of the summer. Now if you think this is a big story, my Mom is still around, and believe you me, she will tell you this story in a heart beat.