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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-05-28, Page 3Feature GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY. MAY 28. 1986—PAGE 3 Jim Searls works 40 years at A and mainly because of the meat counter BY SUSAN HUNDERTMARK When Jim Searis started at the A & P store's meat counter in Woodstock 40 pars ago, he knew the name of every per- son who shopped at the small store with the large pickle barrel and the wooden floors he oiled every Saturday night. One of his jobs was hauling sides of beef into the store and hanging them in the cooler before cutting them into various cuts of meat for his customers. Forty years later, Searis still knows Most of the customers who shop in Goderich's A & P. But, a lot has changed. Working at a large supermarket, he makes orders to head office by pinching a com- puter. His store carries a wide selection of meats which all come pre-cut in boxes. d, though they're not in Goderich yet, bines to wrap and weigh meats are be- ing us tl in city stores. "We're getting more automated all the time. Soon, there'll be robots behind, the meat counter," he jokes. Searls' 40 year anniversary with A & P was Mar. 4 this year. Starting in Woodstock, he also worked in London, Kit- chener, Waterloo and Stratford before ar- riving in Goderich 26 years ago. When he was asked to transfer again to Oakville, he turned down the move since he and his wife rviarioii wanted their three girls San- dra, Debbie and Kim to grow up in Goderich. "You kind of fall in love with this place," he says of Goderich. He started as meat manager at the A & P store on West Street which is now a seniors' apartment building. Before the A & P bought the building, it had been a bowling alley, he says. Since the A & P opened at the Suncoast Mall in 1975, Searis says he's walked miles every day in the larger store. And, he says it's sad to see all the little grocery stores going out of business. "I'd love to have a little grocery store again but with competition, you have to get big or get out," he says. Some of his fondest memories are from the time when he started out at the A & P in Woodstock. • "We had a barrel of fun in that store. There wasn't as much supervision then. Everything was a challenge to do it your own way. Today you don't get a chance to put your own ideas into practice," he says. He remembers a time when he made $16 a week but gave $2 to a little girl who'd lost the $2 her mother gave her to pay for a list of groceries. The mother returned the $2 with a note saying, "It's too bad there aren't more people in the world like you." But, Searis says more credit should have gone to the little girl who told her mother • that she lost the money. "You meet(a- otNof interesting people in the , grocery, business. , People trust you about what roast they should buy and they ask where you are if you're off sick," he says. At the Woodstock store, there was also room for practical jokes. S With great Values from Med( Pharmacy five Ku • GERBER • BABY FOOL )ARS 9 ENTER'OUR FREE DRAW.'... YOU CAN WIN A CASE OF GERBERBABY FOOD OR HANKSCRAFT ELECTRIC BABY BOTTLE WARMER NO PURCHASE NECESSARY KRAFT BAR-B-QU E SAUCE KOOL AID DRINK MIX ASSORTED FLAVORS FRENCH'S PREPARED MUSTARD SQUEEZE BOTTLE Jim Seeds arrived in Goderich 26 years ago when he was transferred by the A & P grocery chain as meat manager and says he fell in love with the town. He recently celebrated his 40 year anniversary working for A & P whose staff in Goderich and, head office in Toronto both honored him with dinners and presents. Searls began his career with A & P in Woodstock. (photo by Susan Hundertmark) One day when he and the assistant manager of the store went out for lunch to a restaurant across the street, the assis- tant manager decided to have a little fun. Disguising his voice as the chief of police, he phoned the store's manager (.his boss) and told him that the produce displayed on the sidewalk in front of the store was contravening a town by-law and that he would have to remove it immediately. •: The manager "believed him and set 10 people to work taking all the fruits and vegetables into the store while the assis- tant manager and Searis watched from • across the street. The assistant manager, - who never thought the situation would get this far, didn't have the nerve to tell his manager about his practical joke. But, two weeks later, the police chief dropped by the store and the manager asked him about the by- law, which of course, did not exist. "It was so comical seeing the manager haul all that produce back into the store. 1 don't think he ever found out who made that phone call," laughs Searls. In-aputherjriCident,ishen Sears spent, a.. year in hospital in London for a knee. operation, one of his customers in Woodstock sent him a tin of 50 cigarettes every week he was in hospital. Once he got out of hospital, he missed the Turn to'page 5 Fopportunity iuiocJs. NATIONAL'S VG National Trust will charge you NO FEE*, whether you need a new mortgage or wish to transfer from another financial institution. Plus, you get: ■ Excellent rates ■ Past, easy approvals ■ Savings with our flexible plans • Mortgage insurance to protect your family for just pennies a day Contact your nearest National Trust branch today. This is one opportunity you can't ,afford to miss! eze NATIONAL TRUST A Division of National Victoria and Grey Thum) • 100 Kingston St. 5244381 't'on.knoiir No apphe.n um dee voter in.ntgle fnmtiv menet occupied new and urate housing ane duplex -mu rnplexee, wiime one Wilt 111 the 1 ? occupied. FetM ttt lti p,n.l to a aunt parte rurh't MkT. 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