Piper's Grocery 1978

Piper’s Grocery – 1916

Joseph Lincoln Piper and his wife came to Iowa from Illinois about 1890 and settled on a farm near Clio.  Soon after this he bought a general store in Oakley and began a lifelong career as a Lucas County merchant.  Several days a week he drove a huckster wagon, selling groceries and other merchandise to farm families near Oakley.

When his brother Rob came to work for him, Joe L. went to work part of each week for the railway mail service (In 1978, we have no passenger service to Chariton, but many freight trains.)  Then, Mr. Piper got on the north branch of the C.B. & Q. (now the Burlington Northern) at Oakley, rode to Chariton, took a passenger train to Chicago where he boarded the mail coach on the train to Omaha, working the mail on the way.  He then rode the mail car on the passenger train bound for Chariton, and then home to Oakley on the North Branch.

In 1900, Joe L. sold the Oakley store and moved his family to Chariton to 1118 Ashland, which was the family home until Mrs. Piper’s last illness.  He and his brother, Rob, opened a grocery in the north part of the Hollinger building on North Main and Joe L. continued part time in the mail service.

In 1903, he bought the Stanley building at the east end of the north side of the square, going into business on his own again.  Piper’s Grocery and Market is still active in the same location at this time.

In a few years’ time he had bought land for feeding cattle and had built his own slaughter house.  He opened a bakery which specialized in fine pastries, as well as a variety of breads.  He shipped bread by train to Melrose, Derby, Humeston, Corydon, Allerton, LeRoy, Garden Grove and Coin, Iowa on the south branch of the C.B. & Q. and the T.P. & W.

Free delivery has always been a part of the business, and in those days of little refrigeration and few telephones, there were two deliveries a day, six days a week.  At 6 a.m. each day, Theodore Peterson, Emil Larson and Elmer Patterson left the store with order books and a list of customers to see.  By 9 a.m. the orders were filled and groceries on the way by horse and wagon.  The Joe L. advertised that he would install a pho9ne for any of these people and pay one half of the monthly fee as long as they remained his customers.

Every other week two wagon loads were delivered to the people at No. 1 mine five miles’ northeast of Chariton.  One wagon carried groceries and one carbide for the miner’s lamps and other non-food items.  Gas rationing in W.W. II put an end to daily delivery, and we are now delivering two days each week.

In 1912, Mr. Piper bought the first delivery car to be used in Lucas County.  Harold Brightwell had taken lessons in driving and was ready to take over when “Messrs Piper and Vaughn brought the vehicle from Des Moines in the record time of four hours”.  Berty Vaughn did the driving.  The second truck was soon needed and a chassis was purchased and then taken to the Schriebers and a cab and truck body added.

Pipers had six sons and one daughter, and everyone helped with the work.  In 1922, the building was enlarged to cover he half block.  The store itself was a half block long with the market and big cooler at the back.  Another entrance on the east was a loading dock for groceries, and extra stock went by freight elevator to the basement.

Early each Saturday morning, Joe l. put out a “Line Call” to each of the party lines in turn saying “Piper’s Store will pay – cents for eggs today” and give the price to be paid in cash or trade for chickens, butter, cheese, etc.  Piper’s script money was used for those who brought in more produce than they could use that day in trade and still wanted the higher trade price.  Often several farm families at a time would buy fresh baked goods, meat, cheese and fruit for their noon meal and would sit together around the elevator or the egg candler to visit before going out to spend the remainder of their Saturday in town.

Piper’s roasted their own blend of coffee and also Jumbo peanuts in the shell.  Each Christmas they sold hundreds of trees.  With the basement full of trees and the fragrance of trees, baked goods, coffee and peanuts is still recalled by the ‘old timers’.

By this time the family began to come home from college or service and some joined their father in his growing business.  Dayton was an excellent baker and an expert cook, and he took over the Bakery and helped Bill Beck in the market.  He was very active in community affairs.  Will came home from college and worked in the Chariton store until his father bought a store in Corydon and Will went there as manger.  Helen graduated from Iowa State College at Ames and went away to teach Home Economics.  John, Joe Howard and Bob graduated from Iowa University.  John went into business for himself with a very successful coffee roasting business in Iowa City.  Later it became Piper’s Home Made Candies.  In 1928, Joe Howard was made manager of a South Side store which was located where the First State Motor Bank is now.  In 1930, Bob joined his father and Dayton in the North Side store.  At this time the store was remodeled to its present size.  Joe L. closed the South Side store and bought a store in Mt. Ayre.  He and his family moved there and he was store manager.

In a short time, Mr. Piper decided to retire and devote his time to his farms.  Each manager bought his own store and Bob and Dayton became partners in the original store.  Bob bought a store in Millerton and Morris Scott managed and later bought this store from Bob.

Mr. Piper (Joe L. as everyone called him) died very suddenly in the summer of 1936.

The bakery was closed in 1936.

After Dayton’s death in 1946.  Bob bought his share and has operated the store since that time.  In 1947, the Pipers – Bob and wife, Ruth, with John as their teacher, learned to make homemade candy.  This has become a major part of the business since that time, with their candies shipped all over the world.  In the last few years a basket shop has been an interesting addition to Piper’s Food Market.