Mill Street, in the l950's, was the place to be! Downtown Danville had a Woolworth, a Rea and Derrick, and a J.J. Newbury store. Located right next to W.T. Grant (presently Beiter's) was the former police station. The building has now been razed, but I can tell you that, back in the fifties, being in front of the police station at noon was not the place to be on any day. It was called "the noon whistle," announcing daily that it was 12 'o clock noon. Its sound blasted throughout Danville. My mom, sister and I couldn't have been more squarely positioned in front of the police station that day and when it went off we flew into the air! Coming to our senses we broke into laughter, then checked to see if anyone had witnessed our perfectly timed scenario.
That day was not a Wednesday afternoon. Back in the day, all stores closed on Wednesday's at noon. We had always known the reason for closing was to enable folks to attend church, though I cannot recall ever going to church on a Wednesday afternoon.
One of my favorite stores, the old five and dime, had unbelievable candy counters! Purchasing a bag of mixed candy and getting it weighed on the candy scale was always worth the trip down town. I especially loved M and M's. But the department I most enjoyed was in the back of the store where they sold colored milk filters. They came in blue, pink, yellow and lavender. My sister and I loved making milk filter disc dolls and embellishing them with beads, paper flowers and embroidery. In particular, I loved to fashion my doll with embroidered rambler roses. We, then, spread our colorful beauties over our bed pillows.
But, more than any other time, I loved going to town at Christmas time. Garlands were strung from the street's lights, criss-crossing at intervals. A colorful plastic Santa and sleigh was perched in the snow on the roof at the First National Bank. Especially exciting, was knowing just where the real Santa sat on his throne. It was the Western Auto store where Mom and Dad had taken us to await our turn in line to sit on his lap. It seems that when you're a kid things look so much bigger and, to me, that store was huge. Located at 275 Mill Street, we couldn't wait to give Santa our list. Little did we know that the dolls we had asked for really came from W.T. Grant.
Every Friday night was big at Christmas time on Mill Street. It was the night they had the drawing. Monetary prizes were given to the ticket holders whose numbers were drawn. Tickets were given according to the dollar amount purchased at each participating store. Tickets accumulated and then came the really big drawing, that of a brand new Chevrolet! All the town folk stood, shivering, as close to the Masonic Temple as they could get. That is where the brand new Chevy was parked near the ticket barrel. I remember we were standing in front of the Smart Shop that cold night.
That year the car was a l958 model. The town leader cranked the barrel and pulled out a number. We waited with bated breath. Then the name was announced: "Mary Mutzabauch!" Mary had been sort of a fixture on Mill Street and was well known. Her blonde hair flew in the air as she ran to claim her prize. I never forgot that win as I don't believe Mary ever had a driver's license. But now she was the proud owner of a brand new Chevrolet. It was, indeed, an exciting night on Mill Street.
I loved when we went to town in the summertime and especially enjoyed seeing friends and relatives we knew. I remember Uncle Art and his wife. Mom's Aunt Bess was always walking way ahead of Uncle Art and I always found that amusing. Back in the day, as well, it was common to see the local nuns walking in twos on Mill Street. And there were all the restaurants for which, as a youngster, I had yet to become acquainted.
The years had passed and I think Aunt Bess finally slowed down to Uncle Art's pace, the 1958 Chevy may have been traded for a Camaro, and the old police station became the Dairy Store.
I still laugh whenever I am reminded of that moment in time in downtown Danville when the noon whistle went off and Mom, my sister and I flew into the air!
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