News : Bolenbaugh's Grocery Remembered

Original Bolenbaugh's

Buzz Bolenbagh behind the counter in 1957

Inside Bolenbaugh's Grocery 1955

Bolenbaugh's in 1974

Bowman's Royal Blue

Jolly's was once Herb and Ted's

Mention Vinton’s neighborhood grocery stores and a lot of names come to mind. Bowman’s Royal Blue, Herb and Ted’s, Brown’s, Abernathy’s, and the West End Grocery, to name just a few. Dale Krauss’s West End Grocery was arguably the most rickety of all the little grocery stores. Kids would spend hours in those stores choosing between comic books, balsa-wood gliders, and candy.

For residents on the northeast side of town near Virginia Gay Hospital, the neighborhood grocery was Bolenbaugh’s. So when a recent “Vinton Today” post on Facebook resulted in a comment by Scott Bolenbaugh, I couldn’t resist getting in touch with him to see what he remembered of his family’s store.

“One of my most vivid memories is of Dad sitting on the counter having a pop while four or five neighbors shared a spirited conversation about politics, local events, or whatever they thought worth discussing. It was a pretty frequent after supper event”, according to Scott. “I know it sounds corny, but today it seems like a picture out of “Andy Griffith” or a Norman Rockwell illustration.”

Bolenbaugh’s opened after WWII as a partnership between Scott’s dad “Buzz” and his Dad's uncle, Jack Bolenbaugh. The two operated the store until MS limited Jack’s ability to work and he sold his share to Buzz in 1956.

For Scott and his brother Tom, the store was a source of employment and pride.

“My brother and I worked a lot of Saturdays. It gave us some money for baseball cards and our college savings account. The big stores in town were Fareway and Me-Too. But they weren’t open on Sundays, our busiest day. The profit came from Sunday traffic, beer, cigarettes, and pop. Dad made fresh ground beef every day and one of his specialties was sausage. He had some “special spice” and the meat counter was pretty busy.”

According to Scott, Jack Mozena, one of the first to build on Scenic Drive, was a bit of a steak connoisseur and a frequent Bolenbaugh customer. “Jack was very particular about the cut of his steaks. Dad would lower the knife and Jack would hem and haw, wanting the cut to be just on this side or that. One time Dad was off work so Tom and I were minding the store. Jack came in for a few steaks but he didn’t trust us to get it right so he just walked behind the counter and cut his own.”

Counter checks were popular back then…..blank checks with a bank’s name on them. It was the customer’s job to write an account number and if it was forgotten it wasn’t a problem, the teller at the local bank would look it up for you. Customers had charge accounts. Parents sent their kids to the store for whatever they wanted and put it on the charge account.

“The policy was that the account was to be paid in full before the end of the month. We never worried about it much; some months were harder than others, a few folks fell behind, others caught up. It wasn’t like you needed ID to cash a check; these were your friends and neighbors. We trusted them and they trusted us.”

Scott and Mary Bolendbaugh were our landlords in the late ‘70’s when Lu and I lived in the basement of the Ray House. It was during the first oil shock and Scott and Mary’s real estate investment went negative every month as the cost of fuel oil outpaced the rent. Scott was a pharmacist working for Gary Thudium at what is now Clingman’s and Mary taught 2nd Grade at East Elementary. Scott and Mary left Vinton in 1980 after Scott enrolled in a graduate program at the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia. Mary took a job as a talented and gifted teacher at the Radnor Township Schools.

Scott retired five years ago from AstraZeneca and Mary retired in 2009. They have two children, Kyle and Sam. Kyle and his wife Darci live with their two children, Maggie and Hank, in London, England. Sam is currently attending the University of Tampa.

“Mary and I both feel that growing up in Vinton was one of the greatest gifts we could ever receive. We went from a town of 5,000 to an apartment building with more than 1,000 residents in the middle of a major metro area with more people than the entire State of Iowa. We were absolutely broke; I was in school, Kyle slept on the sofa of our one bedroom apartment, and times were really hard. But through all of that we had the foundation of our experiences growing up in Vinton to help us.”

Share your experiences with Bolenbaugh’s, Bowman’s, or any of the other local groceries.

READER COMMENTS

Buzz was one of the best. He would go above and beyond for people. When I was expecting my first,Tadd, I had a craving for graham crackers at 8:00 at night. I called Buzz and he gladly took care of my problem. I adored Buzz and Ruth and Blowler and Florence, they were what America was really all about back then. This on line "Hometown" newspaper is a way for us to all feel that way again. It feels like we're getting our town back and I can almost see the smile on Esther's face. Thank you so much for "Vinton Today"!!!!!

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As a youngster, I used to slip into Bolenbaugh's once in awhile, but we traded mostly at Cottrell's (now a pizza shop) over on -C- Avenue. Milo and his family lived right next door to the store. My dad was the manager of the Vinton Farmers Supply down the street, and we lived at 502 West 5th. Milo ran his store much the same as Bolenbaugh's or any of the others. We had a charge account, too, in the 1940s, and I caught the dickens from my folks whenever I went in and charged candy, pop or fudgecicles. One of my favorite things from "the store" was what they called "hand-packed" ice cream. What I'd give to be back in those quiet days. (Nahhh, maybe not) I have so many wonderful memories of growing up there in Vinton, finally graduating from VHS in 1957. Who out there might still have family movies that were shot back in those days?

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A really good story about the neighborhood groceries "Mom & Pop" groceries,as I remember them being called. Buzz was one of the best. He would go above and beyond for people. When I was expecting my first,Tadd, I had a craving for graham crackers at 8:00 at night. I called Buzz and he gladly took care of my problem. I adored Buzz and Ruth and Blowler and Florence, they were what America was really all about back then.

This on line "Hometown" newspaper is a way for us to all feel that way again. It feels like we're getting our town back and I can almost see the smile on Esther's face. Thank you so much for "Vinton Today"!!!!!

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Loved the story. Brought back a lot of memories. We lived on the east end and as kids got to walk to the store on occassion. When I was married and pregnant, we lived on 4th Street around the corner from Buzz's. Couldn't get enough of the strawberry pop!!
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I came to Vinton in '53...roomed at Jo Burkhart's on the corner of 5th and 8th. The other roomie and I would often go over to Bolenbaugh's for snack food when we couldn't make it to Cronk's or on Sunday noons occasionally to the dining room at the Vinton Hotel!! Great memories.