MORE MOM AND POP MARKETS IN THE VILLAGE

                                               Ventura Grocery in the Village in the 40's or early 50's
                                                                ...before my time, I think

When you entered the front door, the sound of a little bell announced your arrival in the unusual case that no one was minding the store.  You all knew each other.  Your receipt was written with the stub of a pencil on the paper bag where your groceries were placed,
the addition written in the same place.

Your meat was wrapped in waxy white paper tied with string.

When you walked in everything was right there in front of you: no need for a big wire carriage.  No need to walk a mile searching frustratingly for what you needed.  Anyway, you were probably a kid with a list and a few dollars from your Mom.  If you paid, a clanging sound on the cash register, along with the slap of the drawer, announced the fact. Otherwise, you were adding to your credit account.

Cynthia Luz Mendes remembered that although it was open there was not always someone in the White Front Market.  You had to call upstairs for Mrs. Aguiar who came down and helped you - even if it was only for some gum...

             Here are some of the long gone costs of items in the little grocery stores in the Village.

This price list is from a small neighborhood grocery store in Kingston, N.Y.
 http://www.fohk.org/wp-content/uploads/momandpopstores.pdf.
If you are interested it is an interesting 

website about this very subject.

THE VILLAGE ECONOMY

The School Street Village was a world unto itself with a shared culture, faith and

language.  The Village assured itself of its own food supply, its own

education and much of its entertainment.  All of it resting on its economy

as the Village was a well-spring of industrious people.

Families, if they had one at all, had a single car.  It was possible to walk just about everywhere. If it rained or it snowed, there was always the bus.

Small businesses dotted the Village.  You could find nearly everything to feed 

your family, and more,

by taking a short, pleasant, and often informative walk to one of the

 markets that hugged  the corners of the Village. 

A partial list of those small markets would read:  

    Jardin's Market...corner of Purchase and Wilbur St.

     (later  Joe's Market  and way before that Swayback's Market)

    Serras Market: School St. just down from the Portuguese American Civic Club

    White Front Market on Winter St.

    Thomas' Market: corner of School St. and Longmeadow Road.

  

     DeSouza's Market- Washington St. just outside the Village proper.

   Santos' Market mid School Street

   Taunton Baker Shop: School Street

   Broadway Bakery: still there in another incarnation.

Before my time there was

Anabel Gomes Grocery, Johnny Soares Meat Store, Pestana Grocery Store, Frank Venture on Floral St., Azevedo Baker Shop, Tony Morals Store and Mrs. Gibeau Store of School Street.

                                        Santos Grocery Store on School Street circa 1950's
                                 

 Close your eyes and remember: the clean tangy smell composed of sawdust
on polished wood floors,

open baskets of fruits and vegetables.  The smell of really fresh meat.
 It was easy to maintain high standards in those

small spaces.  Proprietors wore clean white aprons
 tied in the front.
 The men wore hats as did Mr.

Santos in this great photograph above.

Stay tuned for a lot more wonderful photographs and memories.

Photographs from Arlene Rose Gouveia and memories helped by Emma Andrade, Cynthia, Mary and  Elsie Abreu.  Note : Arlene gathered many of these photographs and memories from her work for the Old Thyme Taunton radio series hosted by Charlie Crowley and for the St. Anthony's Centennial Booklet.

                                         

A BIT OF HISTORY, MAESTRO....

Taunton is a very old city and before I was born had had a rich history from colonial times . I found the photo above  among my treasures.  I cannot assign authorship, as I made a faux pas and did not keep note of it.  But, it may have been The Bristol County Historical Society.  Though this was not taken in the Village, here in 1900 is Mr. Chester H. Morse and Miss Rachel Morse in the first motor car in the city.  The car was made in in Easton, MA.

In 1900 the Village was just beginning to be formed. Portuguese immigrants were coming to the city and settled near relatives and friends. That was often in the School Street area. Many of those first immigrants, such as my grandparents, would never learn the English language, leaving it up to their children to translate if needed.  When I came along I would grow up with the soft syllables of the Portuguese language being a familiar and comforting sound all around me.  I would grow up to miss it and to be sorry that I had not learned to speak the language of my forebears.

World War II ended in 1945.  I remember as a five year old being taken out into Braga Square as all the bells in Taunton rang out. I remember a big crowd of cheering neighbors and that I wore a blue chenille bathrobe.  It was the start of a new day for the nation and the Village.

Minimum wage was $.43 an hour, 55% of American homes had indoor plumbing, life expectancy was 68.2 years of age for women and 60.8 for men.  Teacher salaries were $1,441 a year.

Optimism was everywhere.  My father started a small electrical company.  As we shall see later the sense of entrepreneurship was alive and well in the Village.  We were always a gang of kids who grew up together.  Here are myself, far right with Sonny Mador, Norm DaCosta behind him,my brother Frank with the hat.  My cousin Helena next to him, my sister Kathy next to her and Paul Alvarnaz behind her.  Do not know the middle guy.  I think these are correct names....  Taken at our home in Taunton.


Sources: The Internet, my photo archives. We will speak more about Braga Square later, I promise.