I grew up in the “Jewish Ghetto” of St. Louis. It was a really nice, quiet place to grow up in. When I became a teenager I got a job at the Chicago Delicatessen, 5709 Easton Avenue, part of the Easton line business district. Corned Beef was $1.25 per pound. I worked there for three-and-a-half years. I remember the first lot was a gasoline station, selling gas for 12.9 cents a gallon. The next store was Jennie’s dry goods store. Then came the butcher shop and then Kram’s fish store. Also in that same area was Komen’s Bakery. 

Those were the days when families were close and almost everything they needed or wanted was within walking distance. Families today live far apart, sometimes not even in the same state. The closeness is no longer there. It’s a real shame that these days are gone by.

Leon Klearman, Chesterfield