Nearly 50 years ago, I lived in the back of this store. My parents were the hard working owners of Sauly's Grocery & Market. They worked from six in the morning until eleven at night. It was the only store in the area that had a fresh meat market. The store was more of a small grocery store with convenience, instead of just a convenience store. They carried milk, bread, cereal and vegetables, in addition to cigarettes, cold drinks and candy. In the back of the meat market there was a swinging door that led to our kitchen. Our home consisted of a large room that was our kitchen, living room and my parents bedroom. Then there was a small hallway that led to a bathroom and our bedroom. My sister and I shared a room and it had a little alcove, about the size of some walk in closets. The alcove was my baby brother's room. It was big enough for his baby bed and that was it. The window behind my bed opened into a small enclosed area that stored empty coke bottles and milk bottles. The door to that room was in the back of the store.
I am sure that by today's rules and regulations, that we would have never been allowed to live in the back of the store. In many ways, this was a much simpler time. I was the oldest child and I was almost 5 years old. It was my responsibility to watch out for my little sister and my little brother. My sister was about 2 and my brother was almost 1. My parents were just on the other side of that swinging door. I do not really remember going out into the store very often. We did have babysitters in the evening hours. They made sure that we had food to eat and helped with diaper changes, but they were usually in school during the day.
Did we get into a little bit of mischief? Perhaps! I can remember one time that my little brother painted our coffee table with his poop and he used my toothbrush for his paintbrush! My mom threw away the table and the toothbrush. I did get a new toothbrush, but we did not get a new table. I can remember getting in trouble for sitting in the parking lot. I was not in trouble because I could have gotten run over, but because I was sitting in a puddle of oil from someone's car. I know that the walls of our bedroom held a lot of art work done in crayon. No paper, just bare walls that we had colored on!
As their business grew, they hired more people to work in the store and mom got to stay with us more. It was only a few years until they bought a house. It was a nice, new, three bedroom brick house with two and a half bathrooms and a two car garage. It was a big change from our meager living quarters in the back of the store. My parent's hard work paid off and we survived an awesome adventure of living in the back of the store.
What adventures did you have as a child that would not be tolerated today?
I am sure that by today's rules and regulations, that we would have never been allowed to live in the back of the store. In many ways, this was a much simpler time. I was the oldest child and I was almost 5 years old. It was my responsibility to watch out for my little sister and my little brother. My sister was about 2 and my brother was almost 1. My parents were just on the other side of that swinging door. I do not really remember going out into the store very often. We did have babysitters in the evening hours. They made sure that we had food to eat and helped with diaper changes, but they were usually in school during the day.
Did we get into a little bit of mischief? Perhaps! I can remember one time that my little brother painted our coffee table with his poop and he used my toothbrush for his paintbrush! My mom threw away the table and the toothbrush. I did get a new toothbrush, but we did not get a new table. I can remember getting in trouble for sitting in the parking lot. I was not in trouble because I could have gotten run over, but because I was sitting in a puddle of oil from someone's car. I know that the walls of our bedroom held a lot of art work done in crayon. No paper, just bare walls that we had colored on!
As their business grew, they hired more people to work in the store and mom got to stay with us more. It was only a few years until they bought a house. It was a nice, new, three bedroom brick house with two and a half bathrooms and a two car garage. It was a big change from our meager living quarters in the back of the store. My parent's hard work paid off and we survived an awesome adventure of living in the back of the store.
What adventures did you have as a child that would not be tolerated today?
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