Winchester Journal-Herald, May 27, 1967.
By Anna Marie Gibbons
The corner of Western Ave. and West South St. in Winchester has been unusually quiet these past few weeks, and even now that school is out, the usual groups of small children and half grown boys are not gathered on the paving or sitting on the bench in front of the West End Grocery there. It seems odd to west-enders to pass the grocery during store hours and see no children playing and no bicycles parked on the walk by the small building.
Signs in the front window and on the back door read "Closed. West End Grocery Has Quit Business."
The signs have been read with sorrow by many school children and stared at with puzzlement by children too young to read, as they rattled the handles of the locked doors.
And no wonder.
Since 1920, for 47 years, the West End Grocery (formerly known as "Shires'") has been in operation. During most of that time the proprietor has been one or another member of the same family.
The last proprietor, John IRISH, who closed the grocery's doors this spring, says merely that "operations of this type and size are a thing of the past." Irish explains that he is unable to buy in large enough quantities to secure sufficient discount to meet competitive prices of the large grocery concerns.
He points to the numbers of small credit groceries, neighborhood stores in Winchester which have gone out of business in the past few years. Included are at least ten neighborhood groceries in addition to this one. Those remaining are two filling stations which also sell groceries, a produce and grocery business, and one north side neighborhood store, as far as Irish can determine.
Irish says that his grandfather, William SHIRES, built the frame building and started the grocery in 1920. William Shires' son, the late Ervin Shires, operated the store later, as did another son, Martin Shires. The grocery was also operated by Irene Shires Irish, John's mother. The only proprietor not a member of the Shires family was the late Herb ROBBINS , who operated the grocery for approximately 12 years, before Irish took the business over.
Although the small grocery has always sold the usual staples, canned goods, bread meat and produce, it's chief attraction for the younger set has from the beginning been the "penny" candy case.
Back in the days when all fifth, sixth and seventh graders in the Winchester school district attended Willard elementary school, children from all over the city as well as Willard elementary students stopped at Shires' as a matter of course, to buy, or just to look or perhaps beg a piece of candy from a wealthier friend.
The penny candy case will be remembered with fondness by many grown men and women in Winchester who spent long minutes gazing into it, as children. A child with a penny could make a respectable purchase: a child with a nickle had quite a bit of shopping ahead and a child with a dime could march out with a paper sack stuffed with delightful treasures.
There were tiny licorice drops molded into various shapes; chocolate cream-filled candies which just might hide a prize; vast round balls of sweetness so hard they could be sucked for hours; intriguing small paraffin mugs filled with a sweet colored liquid (the paraffin to be chewed later, of course), and literally dozens of other choices. The Shires family must have had infinite patience to stand by while some small child teetered from one foot to the other, trying to make up his mind what vital penny's worth he would choose.
Even when the days of the variegated penny candy were over, the West End Grocery still had many small items of interest to the young-bubble gum, candy bars, licorice whips, ice cream bars and soft drinks.
The Irishes, with two children of their own (Debbie, now 15, and Bill, 18, who graduated from high school this year) were especially tolerant of the younger generation, and the West End Grocery became a rendezvous for both the bicycle and tricycle set. Debbie, who was two when the Irishes took over the store, centers most of her childhood around the grocery.
"It's the little kids who really complain," Mrs. Irish said recently. "They just can't begin to believe we've closed and get quite upset about it."
A very understandable reaction.
John Irish has taken a position with Anchor Hocking Glass company, where hours are more regular than those of a small neighborhood grocery.
The little frame building is being used as a branch office for the Federal Credit Union of which Irish is treasurer, and John himself works there in the midst of empty shelves and display cases from 3:30 to 5 p.m. each weekday.
But once in awhile a small child still comes up the steps with a nickel in his fist, and hopefully rattles the door.
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