Growing up Carbo, my first gig was a bagger at White Swan Supermarket on Lima Road. I worked the summer of my freshman year and was there until I started (my first round of ) college.
Over time, I would move from bagger to stocker, to deli clerk, to baker, to produce manager to assistant to the store manager. It was a fun environment. Made many friends and knew many of the frequent shoppers - and they knew me as well. What I made best friends with was the overhead speaker system.... I would give announcements, talk about specials, ask for a clean up in the aisles when something went wrong, and would be the count down for when the store would close for Christmas... I work every Christmas Eve so I could be the person to say the store was closing in five ... four ... three ...
As with most things I do, I try to make it fun or funny. Well, I started a group call the "Selects" and it was a group of people who would go out after work. We did everything together ... we stood in that parking lot for hours until someone made a decision (and it was normally me who would break the stares and say Chi Chi's). We even had a newsletter. We hasd stickers on our name tags that said we were select... and nearly everyone no matter their age was part of the group ... even if they thought we were childish haha.
One of the best things about White Swan was the signature raisin bread... well it was I who made it a signature bread. Every employee would have to take their picture with a loaf of raisin bread. I have photo album after photo album of the people who worked there and even those who shopped there holding the loaf of bread. Over a period of a couple days, the icing would turn greenish from the fluorescent lights ... and this made it even more fun!
My dearly departed friend, Shirley Wyss, was one of the two raisin bread icers and she was the neatest lady. Even when I was away at college I would write back to let her know what I was doing. I had blown up a photo of she and Irene, the other icer, as a farewell gift that hung in the baker for years.
Well, you are wondering where the hell is the point to this entry ... well ... this Friday the White Swan Supermarket will close. It is very sad because this was probably where I developed my flair to celebrate ... to plan events ... because every weekend I had something planned for those who were not working.
It is bittersweet that I recall the fond memories, the good people and the way the store really was just a slice of hometown novelty.
I tip my hat to the select people who made this there one stop for shopping.
1 comment:
Oh no! I didn't know White Swan was closing. Thats awful. I'm going to guess that the new WalMart competition from just down the street was the last blow. Thats too bad. I always love those old grocery stores like that. They're a dying breed and they're the only ones that still carry some of the hard to find items - especially candy. Another piece of Americana that's been "marted" to death. Sigh!
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