Until Mother learned to drive, she had to buy groceries at the small neighborhood store just down the road. Daddy also bought gasoline there, running up a monthly tab which they theoretically paid once a week. Naturally, over time, the grocery bill got out of control and Mr. Dennis got unhappy. In desperation, they had to borrow from the credit union to pay off their bill. By this time, Mother had learned to drive and wanted to shop at a supermarket in Springhill. After a few fights, Daddy finally agreed, but only if she kept her groceries to twelve dollars a week. Remember, they were having to repay the gigantic loan they’d made to pay off their grocery bill. For quite a while she managed on twelve, then seventeen, then from my first memories in the late fifties, she spent twenty-five dollars a week.
Trying to feed a family of seven on twenty-five dollars a week must have been a real challenge. I know if she could have somehow managed on nineteen or twenty-three she would have. My brother ate like a lumberjack from the time he was eleven or twelve years old. He wanted to drink his milk from a quart jar, but Mother put her foot down about that. She poured his in a regular glass, so everybody got a share before he was back for more. Of course, the little girls drank from small glasses. And, oh yes, there was plenty of reason to cry over spilt milk at our house. Even if things were going well, Daddy erupted in a fury at spilt milk or a broken dish, snatching the offending kid up by one arm while he pulled his belt off with the other. I’ll never forget the sound of that “pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop” as it snapped past all those belt loops, though that was considerably more pleasant than the popping it made on my legs. I so often wished I were the Daddy and he was the kid for just a few minutes.
Enough whining. In summer, Mother had to take us all with her grocery shopping, until we got old enough to stay home, babysit, clean the house, and fight the day away. Of course, we knew we’d get in trouble for inflicting an injury great enough to require stitches or a cast, so we exercised caution. Kids were a lot easier come by than money for a doctor. We alternated our alliances as the day dragged on. Sometimes I teamed up with Phyllis against Billy, sometimes I fought with him against her. We each waged our own wars against each other, just to make sure no one was left out. Eventually, worn out from all that fighting, we’d get our work done, taking plenty of breaks for minor fights.
Mother had her shopping and budgeting down to a science. The first stop was Winham’s Grocery Store in Sarepta, where she’d check the specials posted on butcher paper on the windows, planning to come back by there after she got the specials at the other stores. Besides, Winham’s gave Gold Bond Trading Stamps which weren’t as good as Plaid Stamps or S & H Green Stamps. She counted on those for Christmas gifts and that had to be worked into the equation.
Onward to Piggly Wiggly to check their specials, also posted in the window. The S&H Green Stamp store was housed in the same building, a very tempting set-up. To cash in Gold Bond or Plaid Stamps, one had to drive all the way to Shreveport, a much-dreaded prospect. If the prices were close to the same, Piggly Wiggly got her money. A & P was where she did the majority of her shopping, since over-all their prices were the best.
The only time I ever saw Mother drink Coca-Cola was while she was shopping, allowing herself that one luxury. We got a box of Animal Crackers or Cracker Jack to eat during shopping, saving the empty box to be rung up with the rest of the groceries. She’d snatch up Sunnyfield Cornflakes and oatmeal instead of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes or Sugar Smacks, and all the Ann Page products she could find, since they were the best buy. Vegetables were ten cans for a dollar, and she loaded that buggy up! I always swore I’d buy Del Monte or Birdseye when I got grown, but I don’t. Naturally, we got store brand salad dressing, mustard, ketchup, though we did get Blackburn Syrup, probably because there was no store brand syrup. Our buggy load compared poorly to the lucky kids whose mother piled their buggies high with fancy, sugary cereals, prize included, cookies, and cokes. (All soft drinks were cokes.) I wished I could drape a sheet over all the awful (wholesome) stuff she bought. Once that buggy was full, she’d parked it near the register and started on the second. I can remember till today what she bought: twenty-five pounds of self-rising flour, ten pounds of sugar, ten pounds of meal, three pounds of shortening, ten pounds of dried pinto beans, all of these store-brand of course, three pounds of Eight O’Clock Coffee, medium-roast, eggs if the chickens weren’t laying and if the cow had gone dry, a three pound box of powdered milk and a couple of pounds of margarine. White bread was three loaves for a dollar, a necessity saved for Daddy’s lunch, since she made biscuits or cornbread for every meal. On rare occasions, she had to pick up extras like baking powder, cocoa, salt, baking soda, matches, and Lipton’s loose tea. (It went further.) Of course, toilet paper, laundry detergent and bleach came from wherever they were on special. If she’d spent too much, washing powder had to double as scouring powder and dish detergent. Paper towels and napkins were seldom seen at our house, due to their extreme cost. Every week, she tried to work in one luxury item like clothes pins, matches, foil, iron-on patches, or God forbid, a home permanent! For us, she picked up packets of powdered drink mix, sometimes Kool-Aid brand at ten packets for a dollar. Finally, she went by the meat aisle, picking up whatever she couldn’t get on special somewhere else. We ate mostly chicken, some bought whole, and packages of backs, necks, and wings to be made into chicken and dumplings. That was long before people realized wings were good. Whole chicken cost twenty-nine cents a pound. Chicken parts were much cheaper. Last of all, she went by the produce section for twenty-five pounds of potatoes, cabbages, carrots, onions, and turnips, for ten pounds each of apples and oranges, or whatever produce or fruit was in season. Fruit and meat often came from Piggly Wiggly or Winham’s.
Hitting Piggly Wiggly for their specials once she’d done her major shopping, she scooped up the specials and the Green Stamps. Eventually, she might even get to Winham’s if their specials were too good to resist. Pickles, jams or jellies were homemade. Peanut butter and crackers sometimes made it to our house, if things went well.
For a while, Barrett’s Grocery in Cullen put whole chickens on special for twenty-five cents a pound. Mother went by several times and purchased just his chickens, till he told her people who were coming in just for chicken were putting him out of business. She went easy on him after that. Late in the afternoon, she would roll in home with her car stuffed with groceries. It seemed like she might have twenty-five bags, though that may be an exaggeration. We’d lug in countless bags, then some us of put groceries away while somebody else started the quickest meal possible. We were always ravenous since our budget didn’t stretch to include lunch in town on grocery day. Sometimes when Mother was feeling flush, she would spring for a bag of chips or cookies, but most of the time, we had to wait till we got home.
We learned early and well not to badger Mother for stuff in the grocery store, understanding we’d had our treat of Cracker Jack or Animal Crackers as we shopped. Most of the time, all it took was a stern look to settle us down. Should we really get out of line, Mother would fix us with a steely stare and say, “Don’t start! Just don’t you start!”
A couple of times, I was foolish enough to start, learning another terrifying phrase. “I’ll take care of you when we get home!” That shut me up immediately, knowing just what kind of tender care was waiting for me. I had crossed the line!
thanks soo much to follow my blogging
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thanks for follow my blogging page to , I wish you are beautiful day by you great blogging
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Your mom is amazing
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Belting you from dropping things or smashing plates was harsh. Everybody does it sometimes. In fact, I still do.
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I agree. Didn’t make me a bit more coordinated.
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OMG…Piggly Wiggly and the A&P!
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Been there, haven’t you?
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As soon as I saw those photos I was strolling the aisles of the A&P with my grandmother…:)
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So many memories. This one….made me cry a little. We were smarter, healthier, poorer, busier. We all could learn from our past and the struggle. Thanks. ❤️
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I know your life was so close to mine. I love sharing with you.
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we may have shopped in the same day and age as kids! – and at the same stores! Mama used to average about 17.00 a week in my earliest memories. Thanks for sweet memories!
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They really pinched every penny.
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What an amazing mother you have! She was a survivor and probably taught you all well just by example. You brought back memories for me too of my mother with 2 girls and a baby boy walking to the A&P. We had to hold hands or the baby buggy. I still remember the smell of the fresh ground coffee grounds! Great post!!
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It was a good way to grow up.
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I remember the days of green stamps too. We didn’t have a Piggly Wiggly, but we had a Grand Union – same sort of thing. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. 🙂
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Welcome.
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Oh, my, I remember days like that. We always had Kool-aid and cheaper cuts of meat. There were only six of us total, but every meal had to be stretched. And eating out was almost unheard of! 🙂
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I remember eating out less than five times, usually on the way to Grandma’s. We usually packed a lunch.
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Yep, and even when got anything good, it was always the store brand! Brought back lots of memories for me!
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Did you know about the Day Old Bread Store? Sometimes Mother went there and got a big box of stuff that was about to be tossed for a dollar. We tore into that stuff like ravenous wolves.
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We had a Hostess outlet that sold day old things, including snacks! But I must say, with eating like that and playing outside ALL the time, not to mention just one TV, we were a lot healthier!
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Nobody got fat. We rushed out in the morning. If we hung around, Mother put us to work. I was never dumb enough to complain about being bored but once. She gave me enough to keep me busy for the next two weeks. We lived on a farm and could play all over the 120 acres, but we had to be home in a minute when she honked the car horn. We sneaked rides on the bull, horses, cows, goats, and anything else that walked under a tree branch.
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Haha, lucky you!
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Oh, I mean we didn’t get fat, then!
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I meant you were lucky to live on a farm. 🙂 I grew up in the Chicago suburbs…
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I was lucky. It was a good life. Hard, hard work, but a good life.
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I can imagine. My hubby grew up on a farm in TN, something he says he wouldn’t care to repeat!
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I defenitely didn’t want to spend the rest of my life that way, but I am so glad some people do.
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True! We need our farmers!
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Your story brought back lots of memories. Memories of us boys breaking into a fresh loaf of bread–having it eaten before we got home. Eight O’clock coffee was good stuff. I miss A&P Stores. We have a local Piggly Wiggly store. Iron-on patches on frayed blue jeans–remember them well. When I started working at Wal-Mart, 12 years ago, in the Deep South, I quickly learned they were buggies, not shopping carts, like they were up north.
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Oh, you are a shopping-cart kind of guy!
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Not anymore.
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Ah, a convert! My work here is done!
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My wife, too–so you should be doubly proud.
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Oh, I am. Do you drink sweet tea and eat grits yet?
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I like grits, drank sweet tea when growing up–so I’m getting there. I also frequently say, I’m fixin’ to do something or fixin’ to go somewhere.
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Good man.
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Reblogged this on carsonrenomysteryseries.com.
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Thanks so much!
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A wonderful post. Thank you.
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Thanks, Mary.
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Gosh, the A & P… we had those here in Michigan and my parents LOVED shopping there. Ann Page made a pineapple preserve that was to die for and every now and then, it would appear in our home. Loved making Velvet Peanut Butter sandwiches using those preserves. Once the A & P disappeared shopping was never the same. Thanks for the memories. 🙂
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Glad you enjoyed. Mother never bought jam or jelly but once. She could make it cheaper. She picked up a jar of mint jam off the reduced table. It was so bad it lasted a while.
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What is a velvet peanut butter sandwich?
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I remember those days! I also remember Piggly Wiggly and Green Stamps! I think back then, food was actually real food.
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Absolutely no junk food, quick food, or mixes at our house. That stuff was too high.
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That was the same for our house too.
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
Another fabulous childhood adventure by Linda Bethea going shopping with her amazingly frugal mother, who fed the whole family on a budget that would put us all to shame.. I must make more of an effort.. thanks Linda, brilliant as always.
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Thanks. Mother could feed us on so little. Everything was from scratch. Can you imagine making cornbread or biscuits every meal to save money.
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Incredible.. David’s parents had six children and his father made bread and would slice and butter 32 slices for tea turn around and the plate would be empty!! We are quite spoilt really…xx
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I’ll bet his kids were like us and just thought that was “his job.” Mother made twenty-seven biscuits every morning. She got up at 530 every morning, lit the heater if it was winter, made biscuits, then milked the cow before she woke us up for breakfast. She had to be back in before the baby woke. There was always at least one baby.
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She is a stunner..xxx
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So glad she’s lived long enough to enjoy an easier life.
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