Lyfting Me Up

I am not much of a shopper. Actually, my approach to shopping is more like going hunting: go get it, bag it, get out. It took me two minutes to buy my “Rollater” on Amazon. Red or blue was the only question. Two days later there it was. Recently, a good friend, who also grew up in Pueblo, sent me a piece of nostalgia—see the photo—an old add promoting Halloween items at the Pueblo Duckwalls. For those of you who have never heard of Duckwalls, think Five and Dime, or in today’s world, The Dollar Store.

Growing up in Belmont the “Shopping Center” was the economic center of the huge sprawling development. It was strategically placed at the bottom of a hill, where all the main roads converged. In this shopping center was a grocery store, pharmacy, hardware store, barber shop, pizza place, bakery and the heart beat of every kid, who with an extra quarter to spend—Duckwalls.

Our house was at the very top of the hill. Let’s say I made my usual $.50 for mowing the lawn. I would usually put a quarter in my piggy bank and then I would fantasize about how I could spend the remainder. I knew that for a dime I could get a small water pistol in a variety of colors, get 10 red licorice ropes, and have $.05 left for a Payday. I don’t remember having to pay sales tax but if I did it would be a penny. So, I would hop on my red bike and ride all downhill to shopping bliss.

Now, if it happened to be March it was kite flying weather. So for a quarter you could get a ‘Man in The Moon Hi-Flyer’ and two rolls of string… oh yes, and a Big Hunk.

The greatest purchase I ever made there was in 1961. It was my mom’s 40th birthday in January. I took every cent I had from my bank, a little over two dollars, and headed to Duckwalls to find her the perfect gift. On that day I was not in a hurry. The manager there was a man, if you can believe it, whose name was Mr. Behnke It’s hard to imagine how he dealt with the hoards of kids that populated his business. On this particular day I remember asking for his help.

We went to the section that had things like dish towels and can openers. He then showed me a very nice walnut spice rack with four decanter bottles as part of it. It cost $2.75. I was ten cents short. I clearly remember him telling me he would give me a deal on it to $2.65. Until my mom left us in 2010, the spice rack was part of her kitchen in the four places she lived. Whenever I saw it, it hung as a reminder to me of the smile it brought to my mom when she opened it and said, “Mark, you didn’t need to do this”.

I don’t know where the spice rack went at the last estate sale… all I know is that Mr. Behnke sold more than merchandise, he made memories.

Onward and Upward,

Mark