Greetings all and a Good Day Greeting to you. The following is similar to an earlier
write-up about Mrs. Kevil and Jamie Reid as operators and proprietor of the Kevil
General Merchandise Store and of the James J. Reid Grocery. The original write-up
used a picture of James J. Reid Grocery when he retired. His first start, as a grocer,
was under the tutorage of his grandmother, Mrs. Kevil and at the location of the Kevil
Building next to the old bank. I received a picture of the Kevil Building from "The
Judy Collection" and I thought that I would share some thoughts with you. The text
is new, but it is of the same nature that was written earlier. The picture is different.
Hope you enjoy.
My first recollection of any grocery in Rockport was of the Arthur "Shim" McCombs Grocery located on Main Street. In about that time frame, I became aware of Mrs. Kevil Mercantile, also located on Main Street. Both buildings had been built years before, probably in the mid nineteenth century. Both had been in use by many operators and of different uses to the public. Shim's was next to a drug store and may have been used as a drug store at one time. Mrs. Kevil's building was used as a grocery store years before she took over. Mrs. Kevil's building has been gone for many years while Shim's still stands.
In about 1947, we moved across from Mrs. Kevil's Mercantile and I certainly became familiar with the store and the owner/operators. Wal-Mart is convenient and makes one-stop shopping a great asset. Living across the street from a grocery store, like Mrs. Kevil's, was just about as good as it could get and especially in the mid-twentieth century. Just about anything that a household would need, in those days, was obtainable from Kevil's General Mercantile. Times were good.
It did not take very many trips to the Kevil General Mercantile Store, in the mid-forties, to notice a young man with a very big grin that was a part of the store. James J. "Jamie" Reid, the grandson of Mrs. Kevil, was in training to be the next owner/operator. He would put a customer at ease and always had an attitude that he could satisfy your ever grocery/merchandise need. It just seems that "Jamie" was born to be a grocer. With the watchful eye and the training from Mrs. Kevil, he soon became one of the best.
From the sidewalk, a person would walk up three of four steps to a landing and another step-up to enter the store. Once inside, it was dark compared to the modern grocery store. The wooden floor was well worn due to a lot of foot traffic and broom use. The store building may have been fifty years old by the time Mrs. Kevil became owner, thus the floor had seen a lot of feet and brooms. The lighting was from incandescent lights hung from the ceiling by a power cord and the dim lighting became worse near the walls. A raised counter near the center of the store contained the work area for the clerk. Situated around this counter was a cash register, the credit book holders, and special treats like penny candy. This area was the most prominent area and the clerk or owner always made sure there was always a supply of heavy traffic items, like cigarette lighters, candies, cigarettes, and other similar items.
Shopping in grocery stores in those days was not like shopping in the modern supermarket. In the late forties, I don't think that one went "Grocery Shopping". It was more like "Going To The Store". The word "Shopping" was just not used to describe an experience in a grocery store. The event was more like preplanning, entering the store, and giving a grocery list either, on paper, or orally, to the clerk and the clerk would fill the list. He/She would make the rounds, picking up the requested items, and return them to the counter. Some "Sacking" was done while the customer was trying to decide if they needed anything else. If you were lucky, you may get a paper sack for your groceries. Cardboard boxes were never thrown away and were, to some, a preferred method of placing the grocery items. The items were listed on a note pad or page with carbon paper and the price was entered. All of this was done by hand and with a #2 wood pencil. A few years later, ballpoint pens became cheap enough to use and most of the clerks switched to ink. When all items were listed, the clerk would manually add up all items and place down a total. There was just no need for an eraser, as those experienced clerks could total a column faster that could be done with a calculator. The bill was either paid then, but in most cases, it was charged. The customer signed the pad and the clerk gave the customer the carbon copy. This is where the "Credit Book Holder" came into play. Each credit customer had an individual note pad or book. Each pad had a certain place in the "Credit Book Holder" and was held in place, on metal frames that would fold like a book. Ideally, when the customer was paid for his work, he would come to the grocery store and settle up with the grocer. In real life, it did not work that way. Some thirty percent or so of the customers would fail to show after they had been paid. Thus, the credit owed to the grocery store could become a large loss unless it could be collected. Most of the time the grocery owner would try to locate the customer or at least make contact with them and stress that their bill needed to be settled. Often it was never settled. My father had over six thousand dollars that was never paid and six thousand dollars was a lot of money in the sixties. He still had his "Books" when he died. We looked them over as a possible part of the estate, but most of the debtors were dead or enough of a "Dead Beat" that it would have been more trouble to try to collect than what it would have been worth. Such was the life of a grocer.
The old bank building was on the left of Kevil's with a small patch of grass between the two buildings. On the right of the Kevil building was another building directly attached to Kevil's Grocery. This building was a part of the store with a door directly to Kevil's main store. It had a separate front entry and this door was kept locked most of the time. This side building contained the bulky items and some "Out of Season" items. It was probably an overflow area also. These front steps was one of the better places in Rockport for a checker board to be drawn. With a board painted on one of the steps and free bottle caps from the store, an entertainment area was made that kept many a kid and many a retiree busy for hours on end. This area was under a roof and rain was just no excuse not to play checkers. It was always a "No Hold Barred" type of game. It did not matter if a seventy year old man was playing a twelve year old kid, there was just no mercy shown. Revenge also played a role in most checker games. Imagine a twelve year old boy getting beat by a sixty year old man and experienced player. A few years later, the boy has gained some experience and in a lot of cases capable of beating the old master that had won so many games. Revenge was so sweet. I was able, in my late teenage years, to beat "Mawh" Porter, Nick Rains, Tip Cardwell, Mr. Durbin and others. I may not have done it regularly, but there were times when I caused the "Old Pro" to give his checker seat to others. Revenge was sweet.
Next to the Kevil addition, and on the south end of the block, was another building. I don't remember much about this building. At one time, it may have been a restaurant, a grocery, or some other business. The area was large enough for a grocery, but by my memory does not produce much of an image of that building. I do recall a wood-sided shelter, that would match up with the Kevil Building. I think that it burned, maybe in the late forties. A concrete floor and a part of a concrete wall is the image that I have for this time frame. Jamie and the clerks had a barrel on this lot. It was away from the store, and was used as a burn barrel.
When Mrs. Kevil passed away, Jamie became the owner/operator of the store. Some time later the name was changed to James J. Reid General Merchandise. Soon afterwards, the lower floor of the Redman Building became available and Jamie moved his store from the Kevil Building to the Redman Building. He stayed in the building until he retired.
Thanks for looking.
See you......
jrd
My first recollection of any grocery in Rockport was of the Arthur "Shim" McCombs Grocery located on Main Street. In about that time frame, I became aware of Mrs. Kevil Mercantile, also located on Main Street. Both buildings had been built years before, probably in the mid nineteenth century. Both had been in use by many operators and of different uses to the public. Shim's was next to a drug store and may have been used as a drug store at one time. Mrs. Kevil's building was used as a grocery store years before she took over. Mrs. Kevil's building has been gone for many years while Shim's still stands.
In about 1947, we moved across from Mrs. Kevil's Mercantile and I certainly became familiar with the store and the owner/operators. Wal-Mart is convenient and makes one-stop shopping a great asset. Living across the street from a grocery store, like Mrs. Kevil's, was just about as good as it could get and especially in the mid-twentieth century. Just about anything that a household would need, in those days, was obtainable from Kevil's General Mercantile. Times were good.
It did not take very many trips to the Kevil General Mercantile Store, in the mid-forties, to notice a young man with a very big grin that was a part of the store. James J. "Jamie" Reid, the grandson of Mrs. Kevil, was in training to be the next owner/operator. He would put a customer at ease and always had an attitude that he could satisfy your ever grocery/merchandise need. It just seems that "Jamie" was born to be a grocer. With the watchful eye and the training from Mrs. Kevil, he soon became one of the best.
From the sidewalk, a person would walk up three of four steps to a landing and another step-up to enter the store. Once inside, it was dark compared to the modern grocery store. The wooden floor was well worn due to a lot of foot traffic and broom use. The store building may have been fifty years old by the time Mrs. Kevil became owner, thus the floor had seen a lot of feet and brooms. The lighting was from incandescent lights hung from the ceiling by a power cord and the dim lighting became worse near the walls. A raised counter near the center of the store contained the work area for the clerk. Situated around this counter was a cash register, the credit book holders, and special treats like penny candy. This area was the most prominent area and the clerk or owner always made sure there was always a supply of heavy traffic items, like cigarette lighters, candies, cigarettes, and other similar items.
Shopping in grocery stores in those days was not like shopping in the modern supermarket. In the late forties, I don't think that one went "Grocery Shopping". It was more like "Going To The Store". The word "Shopping" was just not used to describe an experience in a grocery store. The event was more like preplanning, entering the store, and giving a grocery list either, on paper, or orally, to the clerk and the clerk would fill the list. He/She would make the rounds, picking up the requested items, and return them to the counter. Some "Sacking" was done while the customer was trying to decide if they needed anything else. If you were lucky, you may get a paper sack for your groceries. Cardboard boxes were never thrown away and were, to some, a preferred method of placing the grocery items. The items were listed on a note pad or page with carbon paper and the price was entered. All of this was done by hand and with a #2 wood pencil. A few years later, ballpoint pens became cheap enough to use and most of the clerks switched to ink. When all items were listed, the clerk would manually add up all items and place down a total. There was just no need for an eraser, as those experienced clerks could total a column faster that could be done with a calculator. The bill was either paid then, but in most cases, it was charged. The customer signed the pad and the clerk gave the customer the carbon copy. This is where the "Credit Book Holder" came into play. Each credit customer had an individual note pad or book. Each pad had a certain place in the "Credit Book Holder" and was held in place, on metal frames that would fold like a book. Ideally, when the customer was paid for his work, he would come to the grocery store and settle up with the grocer. In real life, it did not work that way. Some thirty percent or so of the customers would fail to show after they had been paid. Thus, the credit owed to the grocery store could become a large loss unless it could be collected. Most of the time the grocery owner would try to locate the customer or at least make contact with them and stress that their bill needed to be settled. Often it was never settled. My father had over six thousand dollars that was never paid and six thousand dollars was a lot of money in the sixties. He still had his "Books" when he died. We looked them over as a possible part of the estate, but most of the debtors were dead or enough of a "Dead Beat" that it would have been more trouble to try to collect than what it would have been worth. Such was the life of a grocer.
The old bank building was on the left of Kevil's with a small patch of grass between the two buildings. On the right of the Kevil building was another building directly attached to Kevil's Grocery. This building was a part of the store with a door directly to Kevil's main store. It had a separate front entry and this door was kept locked most of the time. This side building contained the bulky items and some "Out of Season" items. It was probably an overflow area also. These front steps was one of the better places in Rockport for a checker board to be drawn. With a board painted on one of the steps and free bottle caps from the store, an entertainment area was made that kept many a kid and many a retiree busy for hours on end. This area was under a roof and rain was just no excuse not to play checkers. It was always a "No Hold Barred" type of game. It did not matter if a seventy year old man was playing a twelve year old kid, there was just no mercy shown. Revenge also played a role in most checker games. Imagine a twelve year old boy getting beat by a sixty year old man and experienced player. A few years later, the boy has gained some experience and in a lot of cases capable of beating the old master that had won so many games. Revenge was so sweet. I was able, in my late teenage years, to beat "Mawh" Porter, Nick Rains, Tip Cardwell, Mr. Durbin and others. I may not have done it regularly, but there were times when I caused the "Old Pro" to give his checker seat to others. Revenge was sweet.
Next to the Kevil addition, and on the south end of the block, was another building. I don't remember much about this building. At one time, it may have been a restaurant, a grocery, or some other business. The area was large enough for a grocery, but by my memory does not produce much of an image of that building. I do recall a wood-sided shelter, that would match up with the Kevil Building. I think that it burned, maybe in the late forties. A concrete floor and a part of a concrete wall is the image that I have for this time frame. Jamie and the clerks had a barrel on this lot. It was away from the store, and was used as a burn barrel.
When Mrs. Kevil passed away, Jamie became the owner/operator of the store. Some time later the name was changed to James J. Reid General Merchandise. Soon afterwards, the lower floor of the Redman Building became available and Jamie moved his store from the Kevil Building to the Redman Building. He stayed in the building until he retired.
Thanks for looking.
See you......
jrd
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