Running a small family-owned grocery store from the 1950s to the 1970s was not an easy task, by any means. It was certainly difficult for owners to make a living from it, much less make a profit.
In the 1950s and early ’60s, there were at least five family-owned grocery stores located near the common in Montague Center. One such store was Bartley’s on a corner entering the village that also sold Texaco gas. One of the store’s features was its soda fountain selling Snow’s Ice Cream cones that cost about a dime each, and if you wanted an extra scoop, the charge was very small. The store also had a huge selection of penny candy that the neighborhood children loved to look at and buy.
Bartley’s was the only store that sold Sunday papers. Oh, how I remember helping Gloria Bartley, one of three daughters of James and Edith Bartley. Using her car or mine, we would go every Sunday morning to Montague’s depot along the railroad tracks to pick up the bundles of papers that were dropped off there by one of the trains.
Upon getting them back to the store, inserts were placed inside each one. All the newspapers were spread out on a large glass counter, so customers could choose which paper they wanted from the large selection.
Later on, due to the death of James Bartley, and Edith Bartley having medical problems, the two buildings and land were sold. The location where the store once sat now houses a family residence.
There were many factors that caused the closing of small grocery stores. One certainly was the opening of larger supermarkets that offered customers lower prices and bigger selections. They also offered S&H stamp books that could be filled up and redeemed for new merchandise at one of the S&H stores, depending on the amount of groceries bought. It did not take too long to fill a book.
Greenfield had many neighborhood stores, many of which are now closed. A few still remain open offering beer, wine and liquor to stay in business. The city now has three large supermarkets to attract customers.
Thank you to the several convenience stores that have somewhat taken the place of all those small stores that once existed in Franklin County for so many years. I remember many of them, and enjoyed shopping at the ones close to where I lived.