Volunteers worked thoughout the day Friday at the Superior Auditorium installing a large screen and projection system which the Ideal Market crew wanted to use at their appreciation supper starting at 5 p.m. One man was on a scissors lift near the ceiling of the great hall. Two others were in the attic. On the floor preparations were underway for the dinner but there was a problem.
As part of Friday’s program, the plan was to project onto the big screen a slide show of Ideal Market pictures gathered through the years but an unexpected problem developed. An adapter was needed to connect the slideshow computer with the new projection system.
At the last moment, the needed adapter was found at another Superior location and rushed to the auditorium.
As I watched those slides, I began to wonder about the early history of the store. I remembered going to the store with my mother when it was located on Central Avenue and known as the Master Market. My grandparents often used the Master Market name when referring to the store. With my interest in history, I wanted to know more. On the weekend, I searched this newspaper’s archives. I found the store history interesting and want to share some of it here.
In April of 1949, The Express reported an Omaha grocery firm known as Paxton & Gallagher, had sold the Master Market to R. D. McCord of Fairbury and the name would be changed to Ideal Market.
McCord had been a traveling man representing a wholesale grocery house. The family included a son Larry, 7, and daughter Janice. 2 1/2. They would move into the Ray Harbolt home.
Paxton & Gallagher had owned the Superior business since buying the R. J. Stephenson grocery store in May of 1945 and moving it to the Central Avenue location now occupied by Nifty-Thrifty. The Stephenson business had been located on East Fourth Street in a building now occupied by Peak Dental.
Paxton& Gallagher had for a time owned the Central Avenue building but it had been sold to three local investors prior to the sale of the store. Those investors included R. J. Stephenson who got his start in the grocery business working in the Hodges Store located along Third Street immediately east of this newspaper’s current office.
The 1949 story indicated Jack Andersen would be the meat cutter for the Ideal store. When I started at The Express, Jack Andersen was the operator of a grocery store at Second and Bloom Street.
In October, 1953, The Express reported “Parking space was almost at a premium for a while Wednesday evening as the crowds gathered for the grand opening of the Ideal Market in the new building erected by Keith Eiel at the corner of Fourth and National streets. It is estimated more than 2,500 persons visited the store between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.
“The Ideal Market is fitted with ducts for the air conditioning which will be installed next spring and is also wired for sound. The building also houses the Superior Ice Cream Company salesroom, offices, plant and lockers. One should not be deceived by the relatively smaller frontage occupied by the “Polar Corner” for there is room behind if for the plant and for 675 lockers.
“Shopping space in the Ideal Market is now double what it was in the previous location, there being 5,000 square feet exclusive of the meat department. There is also the convenience of off-street, meter-free parking for about 14 automobiles to the west of the building. Illumination in the center of the shopping space is by fluorescent lights and for the sides of the store there is indirect wall-canopy lighting. Headers, or large wooden cut-out letters against the lighted background of the walls, help the shopper to find what he wants.
“The new store has 12 more feet of frozen self-service units bringing the total to 22 feet, with 44 feet in the meat department. In addition, there is now a pre-packaged self-service meat department comprising half of the meat display. There is 30 feet of refrigerated fruit and vegetable space and 20 feet of self-service in the dairy department.
“Of course three rather unique check-out conveyor belts will still be used and a new one has been added making four check-outs in all.
“After the grand opening, a dance was held at the American Legion Hall.”
I didn’t ask how many people were served at the appreciation meal held Friday to mark the store’s 75th anniversary, but it was a bunch. The food was free but those eating were asked to make donations to the Simic Roller Skating Rink refurbishment fund with the promise that all donations would be matched by Ideal Market. Saturday Shannon and Jenny McCord delivered a check written for $5,309.84 to the Simic crew.
Just before the check arrived the Simic volunteers were discussing how they were going to cover the upper part of the walls and how much money that would cost. Amazingly, the donation was close to the amount they need.
The Simic volunteers continue to be pleased with the way everything is clicking into place and the rink may open sooner than first expected.
On Saturday, rink walls were prepped and primed, bathrooms worked on and more skates cleaned.
Donations for the skating rink may be dropped of at Horizon Bank or sent to P.O. Box 95, Superior.
P.S. Also found a couple of interesting stories in which the Master Market played a part not related to Ideal Market.
One Sunday night burglars climbed a power pole in the alley behind the Master Market to gain access to the roof. Once on the roof they broke out a skylight and used a rope to lower themselves 14 feet to the floor below. There they knocked the combination off the store safe and absconded with Saturday’s proceeds. While the amount of money taken was not revealed, it was thought to be substantial for Saturday had been a busy trading day in Superior.
Another time while Lee Wall was mayor of Superior, he was to be honored at a surprise party at Hotel Dudley. But how to get Lee to come to the downtown. Oran King and cronies devised a plan. They would call the mayor’s house and tell Lee he had to come down at once and organize a coroner’s inquest for a man’s body had been found in the alley behind the Master Market. The man apparently had died of stab wounds.
They mayor responded to the call and was horrified by what he saw in the alley. In shock he was escorted across the street to the hotel where he was greeted by those who had gathered to honor him.
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