Candy Counters, a Picnic, and a September Wedding

I must have been eleven or twelve when we moved away from River Drive out to our new house in the country. I don’t remember much of the first years there, but I remember my old boy’s bicycle. Dad bought it second-hand and fixed it up for me. Then he made me a large wooden rack to hold my newspapers. I had a newspaper route of eighty homes. I delivered the Moline Daily Dispatch every night after school. I’d ride my bike up 41st Street to Fredrickson’s grocery store. I’d fold my papers neatly, tucking in the ends for better tossing, and stack them into the wooden rack, then take off to deliver my country route. On Saturday mornings, I had a bread route and used that same rack to load up my bread and deliver it to all my customers. Peter’s bakery dropped the bread off at an old farmhouse, where I’d pick up my orders. I had an order form, and as I delivered to each customer, they gave me their order for the following week. I loved it. I guess business was in my blood from the beginning. Interesting how things take shape in life. When I was sixteen, I took a job at the Cozy Corner restaurant after school. Hard work, but I liked working behind the soda fountain in the front best. When I worked the late shift, Mom would always wait up for me. Sometimes, I would bring Mom home a little treat of a piece of deep-fried chicken and some French fries, which I remember she loved. Next, I took the job at the Highland Ben Franklin store. I was in charge of the candy and cosmetic counters. That’s where I first met Bill, who was the manager of the East Moline Ben Franklin store. He came over in the evenings to visit with our store manager. At first, he teased me and pretended to be my supervisor from Butler Brother’s Ben Franklin headquarters in Chicago. He would critique my counter and open the doors to the candy bins to check for cleanliness. Of course, he had no business doing these things. It was just to get my attention. Okay, he got it! But Bill also showed me a direction I could go in business and in my life and sincerely encouraged me for a while. Then he asked me out. We went on a picnic for our first date. Fired chicken—apple pie—and you know the rest of the story. We had our first date in May and were married in September.