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The back-to-school shopping season is, once again, upon us and it brings back memories of days gone by when Sears Roebuck was on lower Main Street, before they moved to Midtown Plaza, and subsequently to Sarasota Square Mall. J.C. Penney was on upper Main St. in the 1400 block before their move to South Gate Shopping Center, and subsequent move to Sarasota Square Mall. Lerners was a couple of doors east of Madison/Liggett Drugs at 5 Points. During those days everyone shopped on Main Street because that was our shopping district before Ringling Shopping Center opened.

I bring this up because all of these stores (and probably many others) offered convenient lay-away plans BCC (before credit cards). On television this week I noticed an ad for Kmart and they are now offering "convenient lay-away service" once again.

"The more things change the more they stay the same."  The pendulum has swung back the other way. Life was/is good

One of my outside locksmith service calls introduced me to foreign diplomacy. Back about the year 2000, Mary Elmendorf phoned my shop, summoning me to the former Van Wezel house on Lido Key.

In 1937, the Van Wezels had been described as "foolish enough to build the first family residence on desolate Lido Key." There were guest cottages and tourist cabins, some of which survived the storm of 1932 when the tidal surge floated away the wooden bridge over Longboat pass to Bradenton beach and covered Lido Key with 3 feet of water.

The Elmendorfs had lived out there beginning in 1965 while John was president of New College.  Now, widow Mary had returned with her new husband and her daughter. 

Upon my arrival I was greeted by a barking, yapping, growling medium-sized, mixed breed dog. While the daughter went looking for a leash, I squatted down and began talking to the dog in Spanish; "Hola, perrito, que pasa?  Que lindo eres, vena ca, estamos amidos, verdad?"

When the daughter returned and saw me petting her dog she was dumbfounded.  She said the dog had frightened off the plumber, the electrician, the drapery guy and the telephone man.  "What was my secret?", she asked. I had read in the newspaper that they had just returned from a diplomatic assignment in Honduras so I figured the dog might only understand Spanish. After all two years living in Puerto Rico should've taught me something. La vida es buena.

Rusty (the dog) shaking hands with Pete Esthus in 1939.

It's fun to browse my memory bank about the downtown Sarasota that I remember. Main Street was where it all happened. There was Lebar Jewelers. I loved to go in there and drool over the jewelry, china and silver. I'm still wearing jewelry that was purchased there over 50 years ago.

And let's not forget Jimmy Cash. He had a neat postage stamp size store next to the Ritz Theater before he moved to lower Main St. next to the Sport Shop. Jimmy pierced my ears too many years ago to remember. He was like a father figure to all of us. He was very down to earth as was his wife who also worked in his store.

The one remaining jeweler is, of course, Shrode. Talk about an institution! As the landscape of downtown changes it's so nice to see some things from our early days have remained. There are so few of them anymore.  Life is/was good.

My display of early Sarasota photographs at my shop building was interesting enough to bring in Sarasota High School alumni during the reunion season. A three-foot by five-foot photo of Hudson Bayou prompted Bill, former City Engineering Department employee, to inform me of an unusual dredge and fill project.

 During the mid and later 1950s, as he was driving home for lunch, he noticed a big dragline in Hudson Bayou on a barge, scooping out the bottom and dumping it into a waiting dump truck. Bill noticed that the bucket was digging deeper than specified in the contract.

 He mentioned this to Carl, the owner of the ABC Dragline Co., standing nearby, who replied that some of his friends with sailboats live along the bayou and he thought he’d just give them a couple more feet of draft, like any good friend would do.

 Bill resumed his homeward journey and unintentionally found himself behind the dump truck. “Rats”, he thought, “how far am I going to have to follow this big dripper?” To his surprise the truck driver turned left at Bahia Vista Street and School Avenue, where his dredgings became fill on the future site of the SHS addition. Life was/is good.

(The names have been changed to protect the guilty)

Back when Sarasota was still a relatively small town, where you knew just about everyone, we always went to the same Standard Oil Station on the corner of Ringling Blvd. and So. Pineapple Ave., owned and operated by Dewey Hathcock and his son, Bill.  Back then you didn't pump your own gas or clean your own windshield.

Mr. Hathcock always came out to the car (I usually had both our children with me) and asked: "How're my Friends today?"  It was one of the things you could always count on.

It's what I always loved about growing up in a small town, and Sarasota used to be a small town.  Continuity!

For many years you could count on the same stores to always be in the same location on Main Street.  More continuity!

The same core people were always in those stores and they always greeted you when you came in 'cause they recognized you.  Continuity!        

I guess it just adds up to a sense of community and belonging.  Life is/was good.