THE LAST VINTAGE OF A PAST ERA

There it sits on the busy corner of Hardesty and Gordon Cooper Drive, an aging building surrounded by the green fields and casinos. Hardesty Grocery, the family owned and operated business for generations. When Murl retired, brother-in-law, Frank Oliver and wife, Yvonne, kept the old time grocery and market going.
Indeed, this is a place where people know you and stop to talk and talk. Some of the familiar faces that stood vigil at the counter continue to work in this piece of history. These are common folk who with a natural friendliness, pump gas, check out groceries, weigh pecans and sell fresh meat over the old fashioned white counter. Ah, the people in white aprons who wrap your order in white paper are like Jewelers who show the product you’ve drooled over in the slanted glass display case. They then cut it to your design while you patiently stand there imagining it roasted, baked or lying between slices of fresh bread. There is an art to this ancient meat market and a pleasant appreciation for the wonderful product.
In this age of modern Super Stores that have parking lots as big as wheat fields and people in soldier-like uniforms that take your money or you can ever check yourself out; it is wonderful to have the last vintage of a past era to serve you. They may pull in driving a tractor or farm truck, an SUV or a Cadillac but they keep coming to enjoy the meet, vegetables, fruit and friendliness of the old country on his hands on his apron, ready to share a story about family or church; a man whose entire life has been serving others. Ed Barnes is still there, hoisting sacks of pecans that out-weigh him, onto a huge scale. Yvonne, who seems ageless, is s steady presence at the cash register, always smiling.
Then those are the faithful customers who traffic in and out daily like family entering the kitchen. The latest, the political, the gossip, the grapevine, the complaints and the humor all are common sounds around the v-shaped counter. No, this is not an advertisement or criticism of other types of markets but it is an expression of appreciation for the little guy with the big heart who keeps going.
There, on the corner of a country road and a stretched out city street is a vintage of a past era, Hardesty Grocery. Wherever they move, many of us will follow because service, quality and warmth are never out of style.
Chaplain Larry Sparks