The sign says "Since 1886". There are Knauer Meats in small towns and city neighborhoods all over America. They might have other names and they probably don't sell lutefisk year round. They might sell blood sausage, pickled cow brains or strong hard cheeses, but they are still Knauers. Sometimes they are even bakeries that know how to make a special ethnic pastry; something you don't even realise is ethnic fare because you've eaten forever. Hold them close to your heart. Do not assume they will be there tomorrow. They won't be. They'll be the victim of "neighborhood improvement". The old man will retire. His son will manage the meat department of a discount grocery. People die. All fine things stand balanced on a knife edge. I can guarantee that one day soon it'll be gone. One morning you'll walk by and it'll be a parking lot or an auto parts store. And you won't even remember Knauers closed ... or how long it's has been gone.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Knauer's Meat Market
The sign says "Since 1886". There are Knauer Meats in small towns and city neighborhoods all over America. They might have other names and they probably don't sell lutefisk year round. They might sell blood sausage, pickled cow brains or strong hard cheeses, but they are still Knauers. Sometimes they are even bakeries that know how to make a special ethnic pastry; something you don't even realise is ethnic fare because you've eaten forever. Hold them close to your heart. Do not assume they will be there tomorrow. They won't be. They'll be the victim of "neighborhood improvement". The old man will retire. His son will manage the meat department of a discount grocery. People die. All fine things stand balanced on a knife edge. I can guarantee that one day soon it'll be gone. One morning you'll walk by and it'll be a parking lot or an auto parts store. And you won't even remember Knauers closed ... or how long it's has been gone.
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9 comments:
Sadly, so true, so true. We lost our neighborhood butcher shop and grocery over 30 years ago. Replaced by a couple of antique stores...hard to eat antiques.
Aaron
gee whiz, that brought a tear to my eye.
mw
Your Knauer's post was underscored this morning. The long delayed NFL jersey showed up at the post office -- shipped directly from the manufacturer in China. Why would I have assumed that jerseys worn in "America's Game" would have came from anywhere else?
Thank you for the wonderful words. Knauer's Market really IS gone now.
J Knauer
Ten years ago Rolf the Swedish baker at the Three Crowns bakery retired. It was a sad day. Eventually a very good Italian baker came to the island and set up shop but it just isn't the same--St. Joseph's cake instead of Mazariner...
Thanks Gunnar. Nice writeup. Below is a link to pics of Gallaghers drugstore in Duquesne, Pa. My old man hung out there as a teenager in the 1930's. It's still there...although Duquesne is a burnt-out shell of a town. It was a tough mill town even then. My old man always said that the silver lining of WWII was that it enabled him to get out of there and scrape that Duquesne sh*t off his shoes. I doubt he ever looked back.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianbutko/720118173/in/photostream/
Best,
Rick M.
Shit!
I feel lucky to have at least come along soon enough to know the Knauer Meat Market's of America, before the McCorporatization took hold. Corner Grocery's with shop keepers who lived in the back, Service Stations with service, Butcher Shops, Pizzeria's where old Italian men would give the little kid a hunk of pepperoni to gnaw on while we waited for our pizzeria, bakeries that smelled like heaven. Now they are all gone. Sometimes I ask myself if it is better to have known what we have lost, or if it only makes the flavorless present harder to stomach.
Knauer's mkt. is still going strong. my cousins Bob and Mark are still on the scene and keeping the legend alive.
Pete Knauerprodups
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