Riding from the country to Webb City on a Saturday was a big deal for a 6-year-old

Prior to his death in 2015, at the age of 93, Chester Shoemaker shared with me his memory of coming to town from with his father.

Chester was born in Galesburg in 1922 and had been a farmer all his life. He could have shared his experiences in the South Pacific during World War II, for which he received a Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal and American Campaign Medal. All of the awards would have given him bragging rights, but he never mentioned them.

Instead, Chester Shoemaker had taken a minute to share with me some memories of when at age 6 he and his dad made the trip to the big town of Webb City.

My name is Chester Shoemaker. I was born in Galesburg, Jan. 8, 1922. I enjoy reading the memories of people in and around Webb City.

My dad had a grocery store in Galesburg. In 1928, every Monday morning, he would bring the chickens, eggs and cream to town and pick up more supplies. I was only 6 years old, but I got to tag along.

He would take the chickens and stuff to C.A. King Produce on Daugherty Street; later it was the location of Elmer Johnson Produce. We always got to Mamie Sturges’ Coney Island Cafe about noon. (The southwest corner of Main and Broadway streets.)

Webb City Wholesale Grocery, where we picked up supplies for the grocery store, was in the West End where the streetcar power plant used to be located (northwest corner of Madison and Broadway.

The last place we would go was the old ice plant out north by Independent Gravel Co. and get three 300-pound cakes of ice to take back to the store. We would cover the ice with sawdust to keep it from thawing. We did this in a 1928 one-ton Ford truck.

Back in those days, a chicken dinner sold for 25 cents!

Chester’s memory wasn’t a long one but it gave us a feel of what a 6-year old thought of a ride into town with his dad.