Edwards'Grocery: Fourteen Hours a Day Without Complaint, By Bob Edwards

Bob Edwards recall the sacrifices his mother, Vera Edwards, made from 1950 to 1971, to operate a neighborhood grocery store, Edward's Grocery, while providing him with a good home. The store was located at 9913-82 Avenue in Edmonton. Bob remembers that hi

My mother ran this little neighborhood grocery store from 1950 to 1971. Actually, it would be more accurate to say she toiled, labored, and sweated fourteen hours a day to make ends meet. She did everything. She ordered the groceries, she unpacked the boxes and stocked the shelves, she took out the garbage, she served the customers, and she tried to collect the charge accounts. She opened at 7:00 am and closed at 9:00 pm, six days a week, Monday to Saturday.


Many times, I remember her being so exhausted she could barely make it to bed before she fell asleep. Often she would fall asleep in the middle of a game of checkers with me. Her feet were so sore she had to soak them in a pail of water. She never complained. She knew she would have to make it on her own efforts.


Despite the hardships, she made sure I had everything I needed. That included three delicious meals every day and all the sports equipment I needed to play the many sports that she always encouraged me to play.


I remember her feeding other people too. She would sort of adopt the young girls working in the bank next door. When she realized they were mainly eating donuts for lunch, she started making them sandwiches. The sandwiches were just too good and soon the demand was more than she could handle.


She had a soft spot for little poor kids who would come into the store and watch while their friends bought candy and she often slipped them some free samples. She also gave extra groceries to some of the poor customers without them even knowing it.


On cold days, people often waited in the store for the bus. She often gave them hot coffee or hot chocolate to keep them warm. Occasionally she even gave them a ride home after the store closed.


We lived in the back of the store. It was small and spartan, but she made it comfortable. She gradually taught me the business. I learned to run the adding machine, the cash register, and the meat slicer. I learned how to calculate prices, make change, and pack groceries. And, most importantly, she taught me to save a little out of anything I earned. She rarely asked for help, and I was usually too oblivious to realize she needed it. When I did help, I realized what a tough job it was to be on your feet fourteen hours a day. But she never complained.


When business was good, she would hire a clerk. She usually hired a good-looking girl hoping that the girl would attract paying customers and she usually did. There weren't many good years financially, but we were never hungry and neither was any friend I brought home.


These were the days when bread and milk were delivered to the store by horse drawn wagons. Eggs were three dozen for ninety-nine cents and the cheese and garlic sausage was on the counter, so free samples would lure the customers. All the merchants on the block knew each other and knew all their customers by name. My mother was one of the kind-hearted merchants who is fondly remembered to this day by her former customers.