THE LADY AT KRESGEES

I remember being six years old and going with my Mother on a shopping trip. Shopping with my Mom was one of the most enjoyable experiences that I could ever have. She seemed to know every woman who worked in every toy department in every store in Oshawa. I always scored the neatest playthings.

There was always a sense of excitement on a shopping day. My Mother would always begin with a trip through the women’s stores. I was always kissed, hugged, and tickled by the salesgirls. I attribute this to my appreciation and love of women as I grew. I was never alone while my Mom tried on a multitude of different outfits.

After my Mother finished buying new clothes we stopped for a drink at the Kresgee’s counter. Kresgees was a department store, and they had a built-in restaurant with a long counter. The woman behind the counter was always very friendly and always gave me a paper triangle cup in an aluminum holder filled with grape soda and ice.

After our little break, it was off to the children’s clothing stores, and finally, as a reward, my Mom took me into the Laura Secord’s Chocolate Shop and bought something delicious for us to munch on in the car on the way home.

What happened when I was a young child helped form who I became as an adult. I had an idyllic life thanks to loving, caring parents. They instilled a love of life in me that I am grateful for every morning when I wake up.

When I was nineteen years old and in my first year of University I went with my Mother to the Oshawa Shopping Centre to try on a pair of jeans. I insisted on treating my Mom to a nice refreshing cool drink. We decided on the Kresgee’s counter.

I watched with amazement as the woman behind the counter took six different orders and gave a little boy who was sitting with his Mom a grape soda. After dropping the soda off she came over to take our order. My Mom asked for apple pie and tea, I had the traditional grape drink.

I asked the waitress how long she had been behind the counter and she stopped and looked up at the ceiling. ‘’Thirty years, I’ve been serving people for thirty years, it has been fun.’’ She said Kresgees had provided her with solid employment and a job she really loved. I asked her about retirement and she shrugged it off. ‘’You should never quit a…