Catskill Fruit and Vegetable Garden

Circa 1946 my father went into the grocery business.   He opened a produce market and called it the Catskill Fruit and Vegetable Gardens.   It was located on Main Street in Catskill, New York.   Catskill is located about 100 miles due north of New York city on the west side of the Hudson River.    This is a very picturesque area.    My dad's store was easy to find, it was located right next door to Ted's Diner.

Both my father (Clyde Dallas) and my mother (Marietta Dallas) worked in the store.    They were a loving and devoted couple all their life.   They were always together.

As you can see in the picture below, it was a small store.   Just look at that old pick-up truck.   Can anyone make a guess as to what model and year it was?

Here is a happy customer.   One of many that I am sure that my dad had.

My dad ended up closing the market and went to work for a large grocery chain as a store manager.    My dad loved the grocery business and was in it all his life.



Being nostalgic I started wondering if the building where his produce market had been was still standing and if the building still looked the same.    I started searching with Google maps.    In the Google "street view" mode it lets you "drive up and down streets" pictorially.   All that I knew was that the store was in Catskill.    I took a guess and tried Main Street.   And sure enough there it was.   Remember what the building of the Catskill Fruit and Vegetable Gardens looked like?   There are two pictures below.   The first one is black and white and shows how the building use to look.   The next one is a color picture and shows what the building looks like today.

Yep, it looks pretty much the same.   I am glad.   It seems that so many buildings get torn down for shopping malls or gas stations or parking lots.   But now it does have a nice bright yellow coat of paint.

Now the question is what is being sold in the store where my dad's Catskill Fruit and Vegetable Gardens use to be.    You will never guess.   Go ahead and make a guess.   Yep, you are absolutely right, a store with produce for sale (and lots of other things).   Amazing after all these years that produce would be sold from this location.

There is a sign on the 2nd floor that says Catskill Country Store which must be the name of the business.

By the way the Catskill Country Store has a terrific website.   If you want to visit the website, here is the link.   It looks like a really nice store.

http://www.catskillcountrystore.com/

I know your next question, what about Ted's Diner.    Good question.

I am sorry to say that Ted's Diner is gone.   In its place is a nice little park.   There looks to be a plaque on the cement base of the flagpole.   Hopefully, the plaque commemorates that Ted's Diner was once there.

Well, I am glad that you shared my trip down memory lane with me.   It is nice to remember the good times.   May all of you who read this blog have your own pleasant trips down your own memory lane.   Don't be shy about leaving a comment.    Have a blessed day.    Lew