Harmon & Carson Grocery
. .
- Name
- Harmon & Carson Grocery
- Retail
- Food and Beverage Stores
- Trading names
- John Harmon Grocery Harmon's Grocery
- Services
- Supermarket
- Founded
- 1928
Creston,Ohio
- Dissolved
- 2000
- 127 S. Main St., Creston, 44217, Ohio
John Harmon Grocery
Harmon's Grocery
If you wanted groceries delivered, you just called "#50" and almost immediately someone answered "Harmon's."
There were two deliveries a day for a long time, but finally cut down to just one. Mr. John Harmon was ever so pleasant, when answering the phone. He had many clerks during his time in business, but I think most people were glad when they heard his cheerful voice. He always seemed to be able to help you out when you couldn't think exactly what you wanted. Mrs. Harmon was in the store many years too, always pleasant, but in the back room attending to business affairs.
Mr. Harmon's good old white horse, "Nellie", was known all over town. She seemed to know where to stop and just about how long she should wait outside for the groceries to be delivered. The delivery boys said that "Nellie" would sometimes start on to the next house and the boy would have to yell, "Whoa, Nellie", or "Wait for me, Nellie", -- because he had taken too long. But Nellie never ran away as far as I know. She would just go a few steps to let the boy know it was time to move on. I don't know how many years Nellie lived, but Harmon's eventually got a small truck for deliveries.
The Harmon's were good Presbyterians and seldom missed a church service. One thing about John Harmon-- he treated everyone alike. My father often said even if you owed Mr. Harmon a hundred dollars== (what my father sometimes did) he would still be your friend and continue to bring your groceries.
They lived about the store then bought the Wheeler house on North Main St. where they lived until Mrs. Harmon passed away. Mr. Harmon moved to Burbank St. where he lived with his daughter and husband, Mr. & Mrs. Morris Coleman.
Morris Coleman was a good friendly salesman, it didn't take him to long to learn people's names and also what their likes and dislikes were. He seemed to pick up the Harmon atmosphere when he came into the store and immediately made friends.
In the days of Harmon's Grocery people ran charge accounts. It was not uncommon for some people like my father to not get paid for a building or some other contract job until it was finished or maybe until the end of the year! What would we have done without John Harmon? I don't know how he carried those accounts but he did and at least in our case, he once said, "Oh, I know I'll get it!"
The world could do with more John Harmon's!! [1]
- ↑ Memories of Creston. Dorothy Fay Grunder. February 2003.