Home Deliveries

The Pick’s had a charge account in every store in Remsen, most notably at the grocery store; first with Hatz Market, then Bob Schneider’s store, and later with Dewey Majeres’. This continued for many years even after moving to the farm. As with many small-town businesses in those days, charge accounts were common practice as were home deliveries. A June 8, 1949 list reads: Doz oranges, 2 bread, 3 Giant Vel (powdered detergent used for both dishes and laundry), 50 lbs  Gold Medal Flour, 3 creamed corn, 6 strawberries, 3 pink salmon, 1 doz apples, 2 pork & beans, C (brand name “Cinch”) cake mix, 10 lbs sugar, 1 lb S.P. (Swift’s Premium) bacon, eggs, peppermint flavoring.  

In the early days Mom had very small children, she did not drive. She took care of the office for Dad’s veterinary practice that was in the garage. Mom took calls, did the books, waited on clients coming in for medicine, and generally handled everything except going out on calls. Not completely sure, but she may have mixed medicines also. All it took was her placing a phone call to the store, giving the clerk the grocery list, and the groceries were delivered to our back door in a cardboard box within a few hours.

When we were old enough to walk by ourselves, we kids were sent for items light enough to carry home with the most popular being bread. Often times a neighbor kid walked along with us, usually Ann or Lynne Zimmerman. And the Pick kids walked with one of the Zimmerman’s when their mother, Margaret, sent them to the store. As we grew older, those grocery runs were made by bicycle. Joan remembers riding her bike, carrying home a dozen eggs in the bicycle’s basket only to fall down with all of the eggs breaking. When Ralph Augustine took over Mom’s job in the office she was then free to do her own grocery shopping.

As stated on a February 1949 Bunkers Dairy statement, either LeRoy or Cletus Bunkers delivered four quarts of milk in quart glass bottles every other morning. Empty milk bottles, set out either the night before or early in the morning, were traded for full ones. In the winter, the milk was brought into the house from the outside soon after it was delivered to avoid getting frozen. Mom skimmed the cream from the top for Dad’s coffee and baking. Our family of seven drank two quarts of milk every day. It was actually only six people because Richard was two months old in February 1949.

Royal Cleaners, owned and operated by the Cloyd Zeig’s, picked up and delivered the town’s dry cleaning. Physicians made house calls. Clothing, bedding, brooms, mops, spices, even food, were all sold door-to-door. Do you remember Watkins Products? Fuller Brush? We bought cake mixes from a door-to-door grocery vendor. A fair amount of the children’s clothing was purchased from Margaret Kurtenacher (from Alton, Iowa) who sold door-to-door with a trunk (very large suitcase) full of sample clothing from which Mom placed her order.

Remsen was still offering home delivery services when we moved to the farm in April 1960. 

Bill’s Dray Line receipt from 1949

Bunkers Dairy receipt from 1949