It started in Mt. Vernon

  Sometimes at work, I feel a close connection to the past.   Weighing Potatoes for example.  We have five kinds of seed potatoes this year.  Fifty pound bags have to be opened up, and smaller bags made.   I volunteer for this job, because I enjoy the process, and it reminds me of my family.    My dad, SW, and his father, SW Sr., both spent their working lives in a grocery store.   The produce in the store had to be fresh, and look fresh.  So every day, celery and lettuce was taken out of plastic bags and the stalks trimmed.  Then put into new bags.  Apples, and bannanas were gently checked for bruises, then removed if they didn't look good.  Bell peppers, lemons, yellow and white onions, and other items were straightened and refilled.  Baking potatoes were sold by the pound, and by the bag. This picture is the Minit Saver Market produce section. About 1980. In earlier days, seed potatoes and onion sets were...