His Uncle Ed was the butcher, who was usually at his meat counter near the back of the store and next to the heavy door to the walk-in freezer. (When we had a hog or beef butchered, Uncle Ed would wrap each chunk in butcher paper and store it in the locker we’d rented in there. The freezer always had an odd scent.)
We girls were mostly interested in whether Aunt Martha would tell us to chose a cookie from one of the big lidded jars. She sat on a stool at the cash register, which was about in the center of the store. Once I noticed a different coin on the cash register and asked about it. It’s a little wider than a nickel but the wrong color. It was an old 2-cent piece.
She asked if I wanted it. Sure. So I became the owner of a 2-cent coin, dated 1868.
Once the Civil War ended, it phased out of circulation, having been minted only about a decade (1864-1873).
It was also the first American coin to bear the motto “In God We Trust.”
There are several Civil War veterans buried at Dexter.
“Aunt Martha’s” was really Blohm’s Grocery. It was begun by an immigrant ancestor, George Amus Blohm, who came to America with his parents and siblings.
George Blohm married Anna Ohrt. The cover story of The Immigrant and the Outlaw: A Collection of Stories from America’s Heartland is from Anna’s side of the family. (Due out next month.)