Meat Market, 1955
I remember a grocery shopping day with my mother in the 1950’s.
Five customers from the small east Texas town stood in front of the thick glass at the meat counter located near the back of the local grocery store. The meat counter housed the steaks, lunch meat, and sausages strategically arranged to show-off their savoriness. The five customers were dressed in a Saturday attire consistent with the 1950’s notion that traveling to the grocery store was an important week-end ritual, and customers should dress accordingly.
The five people included two white husband and wife couples, and Mr. Toby, a local black man who had lived his entire 85 years in the community. He was dressed in clean khaki’s and sports shirt with a red bandana around his neck. Mr. Toby knew everyone in the community and everyone knew him.
The meat market was run by Mr. Blackwell, a local butcher, who addressed each customer with an enthusiastic welcome followed by an inquiry about their possible meat selection. “Hey Larry, how are you and Mrtyle doin’? What can I get for you?”
On this day Mr. Toby waited patiently as the two couples were greeted, a meat order taken, and their meat selection wrapped in thick white butcher paper with a white string securing the content. After the two families received their purchase, they moved to other parts of the store, so that only Mr. Toby remained peering through the thick glass ready to share his meat selection.
As Mr. Blackwell tore off a new sheet of butcher paper to prepare for the next customer, he noticed that Mrs. Imogene Livingston was walking rapidly from the front of the store toward the meat counter. Imogene was a charter member of the local chapter of the United Methodist Women. It was the chapter practice to meet on Saturday afternoon prior to Sunday worship. Topics at the chapter meeting often included homilies praising the value of fairness, kindness, and consideration. On this day after their UMW meeting, Imogene stopped by the grocery and headed immediately to the meat counter.
As she neared the glass display, Mr. Blackwell,abruptly turned from Mr. Toby to Mrs. Livingston with his normal, enthusiastic greeting, “Yes mam, Imogene, what can I get for you today?” Mrs. Imogene Livingston with the themes of fairness, kindness, and consideration still resonating in her mind and without even a glance at Mr. Toby quickly asserted, “I’ll have three of those sirloins, Mr. Blackwell and hurry if you can. Our UMW meeting took longer than I planned and I need to get home and start supper.”
I was a boy of ten when I watched Mr.Toby’s reaction, and today 60 years later, the memory is still vivid of Mr. Toby continuing to stare pensively at the meats in front of him as Mr. Blackwell wrapped Mrs. Livingston’s meat choice.
I remember looking at my mother with a curiosity that bordered on anger as I knew I had seen something that was not right, and in my ten year old image of the world, I knew the sadness of this incident was that Mr.Toby would not be allowed to express the anger that both he and I felt.
I remember a grocery shopping day with my mother in the 1950’s.
Five customers from the small east Texas town stood in front of the thick glass at the meat counter located near the back of the local grocery store. The meat counter housed the steaks, lunch meat, and sausages strategically arranged to show-off their savoriness. The five customers were dressed in a Saturday attire consistent with the 1950’s notion that traveling to the grocery store was an important week-end ritual, and customers should dress accordingly.
The five people included two white husband and wife couples, and Mr. Toby, a local black man who had lived his entire 85 years in the community. He was dressed in clean khaki’s and sports shirt with a red bandana around his neck. Mr. Toby knew everyone in the community and everyone knew him.
The meat market was run by Mr. Blackwell, a local butcher, who addressed each customer with an enthusiastic welcome followed by an inquiry about their possible meat selection. “Hey Larry, how are you and Mrtyle doin’? What can I get for you?”
On this day Mr. Toby waited patiently as the two couples were greeted, a meat order taken, and their meat selection wrapped in thick white butcher paper with a white string securing the content. After the two families received their purchase, they moved to other parts of the store, so that only Mr. Toby remained peering through the thick glass ready to share his meat selection.
As Mr. Blackwell tore off a new sheet of butcher paper to prepare for the next customer, he noticed that Mrs. Imogene Livingston was walking rapidly from the front of the store toward the meat counter. Imogene was a charter member of the local chapter of the United Methodist Women. It was the chapter practice to meet on Saturday afternoon prior to Sunday worship. Topics at the chapter meeting often included homilies praising the value of fairness, kindness, and consideration. On this day after their UMW meeting, Imogene stopped by the grocery and headed immediately to the meat counter.
As she neared the glass display, Mr. Blackwell,abruptly turned from Mr. Toby to Mrs. Livingston with his normal, enthusiastic greeting, “Yes mam, Imogene, what can I get for you today?” Mrs. Imogene Livingston with the themes of fairness, kindness, and consideration still resonating in her mind and without even a glance at Mr. Toby quickly asserted, “I’ll have three of those sirloins, Mr. Blackwell and hurry if you can. Our UMW meeting took longer than I planned and I need to get home and start supper.”
I was a boy of ten when I watched Mr.Toby’s reaction, and today 60 years later, the memory is still vivid of Mr. Toby continuing to stare pensively at the meats in front of him as Mr. Blackwell wrapped Mrs. Livingston’s meat choice.
I remember looking at my mother with a curiosity that bordered on anger as I knew I had seen something that was not right, and in my ten year old image of the world, I knew the sadness of this incident was that Mr.Toby would not be allowed to express the anger that both he and I felt.