One night on Easter break, our family was sitting out on the porch and I was pondering what I should write for next main story in The Missy Times. I asked my siblings if they had any ideas and Phil, my oldest brother came up with a good one:
"Why don't you go around Beaver and see what you can buy for less than a quarter?"
That sounded interesting, but I doubted that there were many things for sale these days for under 25 cents. After concluding that the 3 cent nails at Fischer's Hardware Store would probably be the
only item I would find for that low of a price, we raised the limit to a
dollar or less. I finally had a topic!
It was a pleasant warm April day when my friend and I walked up to main street to carry out the survey. I brought along with me a pad of paper and a pencil to record the information, and some money in case I wanted to purchase anything we found.
Starting at Cafe Kolache, Beaver's well-known coffee shop and eatery, we made our way down Third Street stopping at as many businesses as possible. "Can I help you with anything?" many of the cashiers would inquire. I knew must of certainly looked odd that we were walking around their store copying prices down from tags, but I wasn't really in the mood to explain our mission to every single shopkeeper. We preferred to work "undercover", per say. "No thank you, we're just looking, ma'am. (or sir)" I'd answer politely. A few times when prices weren't printed clearly though, we did have to ask the cost of an item. One store, "Kathleen's", was particularly talented at not labeling their merchandise. "How much are these cards? How much is this painted lady bug? What about this candle?" my friend kept calling to the lady at the counter. She answered our inquiries one by one, but seemed puzzled. "Exactly how much money do you girls have to spend?" she finally said. I explained our task. "Oh, well this isn't that kind of store" she declared almost proudly with a chuckle "We don't have anything
here for under a dollar." We did find one item, though. It was a fancy kind of instant hot chocolate called "Cocoa Amore".
Some places really impressed me with their selection: Who knew Pizza Joe's sold espressos? Since when has Pollock's sold so many pens? Why hadn't I ever noticed that the cookies at Kretchmar's were so inexpensive?
And others really disappointed me: When did the previously 99 cent silly bands at the toy store go up to $1.21? Are sugar-free cookies all Cafe Kolache can offer for under $1? Why can't Philly Originals lower the prices on their drinks?
At the end of the day, this had to be one of the most enjoyable Missy Times surveys I've ever done. My friend I both agreed that it was a lot of fun.
Here are a few last notes:
- In only a little over an hour, we collected info from nearly 20 stores.
- I ended up buying an egg roll from China house for Grace to try, a postcard from the Hostess Shoppe to send and a star cookie from the bakery to munch on. All were very successful purchases.
- One of the few stores we had to leave out was Beaver Super, on account of their overwelming array of products.
- When I posted the results in The Missy Times, I forgot to mention that we didn't include tax. If you want to come to Beaver to buy these items yourself, make sure you bring a few extra pennies.
Stay tuned for "Behind the Scenes, Part 2" for more info on my trip to Baltimore.
