A week ago Saturday, I went home to attend an auction with my sister at the company where our father had worked for over 50 years.
It was great to be back in the building, but at the same time it was sad. Here was a company that was in business for over 100 years, and now it’s only a memory.
Even in Dad’s final years with them, things were difficult.
They were trying to survive by acquiring other businesses while, at the same time serving a dying breed.
Zollinger’s was a wholesale food supplier to independent groceries.
The small, independent mom-and-pop groceries are a thing of the past, just like a lot of other businesses.
I can remember traveling with Dad on days I didn’t have school. We met owners of these great small businesses.
Some stores were no larger than the garage at my house, but they served an entire community.
Not What It Used to be
Many times the store was part of their home or their home was located next door.
Although the number of items they carried was limited, they always had the basics. Today, just buying a box of saltine crackers can be a complicated process — original, fat-free, no salt, little salt.
There were no charge cards, just a book or tablet where the owner kept track of your purchases until payday, or when the crops or livestock were sold.
Everyone was on a first name basis.
Dad was always greeted as friend, not a salesman.
There was time to talk about family, about events of the day and to get the latest community gossip. The store served as a gathering place for the locals, where meetings were held and business conducted.
A few chairs were spaced around a desk, no matter how small the area.
My sister and I arrived at the auction early so we could walk though the building before people arrived.
We had to get pictures of us in the walk-in safe and on the slide. The slide used to send boxes of merchandise from the third floor to the first.
Both of us remember getting on the slide on the third floor and riding it to the first.
Up and Down
A freight elevator in the building still is in operating order. My sister wanted no part of the elevator, but it was great to find it still worked.
The basement was not open, but I can remember the smell from the barrels of vinegar.
The building itself was smaller than I remembered. Isn’t that the case, as things in the past always seemed to have been so much larger? That also is true with distance. A far trip yesterday is much closer today.
Prices, for the most part, were reasonable, except for a couple items I really wanted.
A calendar from 1907 carried the company name, Zollinger, and its address, Piqua, Ohio.
I started the bidding at $25 and took it to $100. It sold for $220.
Next was a seal stamp, again with “Zollinger’s” and “Piqua” on it.
Nnormally, it would sell for $20. The final price went to $175, out of my range.
I was able to acquire of couple ledgers with “Zollinger’s” engraved on them for $6 and a book containing sales totals, with dad’s sales listed, for $5 plus a small display box with “Zollinger’s, Inc.” on it, for $8.
I left the auction at 2 o’clock, having spent $29/
It was great to have the opportunity to be in the building again, to reminisce about the past.
The property is for sale.
It appears to me to have a lot of life left.
I hope someone purchases it soon and puts it to good use because an empty building deteriorates quickly.
Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net