Shopping at Piper's more than a century later ...

I stopped by Piper's (Meat, Groceries, Candy) on the northeast corner of the Chariton square yesterday afternoon to see how the crew was holding up in the Christmas rush --- homemade candy is shipped worldwide from here during the holiday season from an old-fashioned store that its first tenant, Fred Stanley, still would recognize. He opened his grocery store here during the summer of 1894 when the building was brand new.

Owner Jill Kerns seemed to be holding up well.

Her mother, Anne, was seated nearby wrapping the homemade mints that are served as after-meal treats at the Hy-Vee Market Grille, just across the street east in the Hotel Charitone.

Elsewhere, the store crew was busy filling orders for candy, meat and groceries while the candy kitchen crew worked to keep up with demand in the rear of the building.

Joe L. Piper bought what now is Piper's from Fred Stanley during December of 1908, greeting customers in his new business for the first time on Tuesday, Dec. 8. Many years later, his son, Bob, sold the business and building to the Kerns. It's not often that you find a retail business operating under the same name in the same place for 110 years with only two families of owners.

Here's the story from The Chariton Herald of Thursday, Dec. 10, 1908, announcing the sale under the headline, "New Chariton Grocerman" ---

"A deal was consummated Monday of this week whereby J. L. Piper purchased the Fred C. Stanley grocery stock, fixtures and good will and he is now in possession of the establishment. Mr. Piper is not new in the grocery business, having conducted a store at Oakley for six years in connection with his brother, R.D. Piper, and for two years after his brother came to Chariton. The new proprietor of the Stanley store has lived in Chariton almost five years and is quite well known by most citizens of this town. He has been in the railway mail service for some time and is glad to get back into the business he is so well acquainted with and likes. Until he can be relieved of his duties in the mail service the establishment will be in charge of Mr. Stanley and all customers and friends of the retiring proprietor will be as kindly treated in the future as they have in the past. The advertisement of the new proprietor will be found in the Herald this week. Drop in and get in touch with him."

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Elsewhere on the front page of The Herald was a paragraph about Fred Stanley's plans: "Mr. Fred C. Stanley, who sold his grocery establishment to J.L. Piper the fore part of this week, expects to go on the road for Tone Bros. of Des Moines along about January 1st. His territory will be northern Iowa, and it is quite likely he will move his family to some point that will be nearer his field."

And here's the advertisement inside The Herald of Dec. 10, also announcing the change in ownership.

Anyhow, I visited with Jill and Anne for a while yesterday and then picked up my order and headed home --- two half-pound packages, one of sliced ham and the other of turkey; a jar of Amish Wedding sweet garlic dill pickles; and a half pound each of homemade toffee and double milk-chocolate dipped homemade toffee.

There's not much of the chocolate-dipped toffee left.