Thursday, May 15, 2008

56572@125: Life without a firewall

Early this week the twenty-five year old brick wall marking the entrance to the west parking lot of E.L.Peterson Park was demolished. Drivers seeking a parking place need to see that behind the wall both parking and a park are available. Maybe they will stop and buy a six-pack and drink it somewhere else.

The downside of the decision to take down the wall is that it may mean an up-tick for sales at the Elizabeth and Erhard Municipals.

In addition to a brick and mortar library 56572 was one of the last towns in the territory to get a municipal liquor store. Neither was needed.

Buying habits needed to change. That took a while, forever for some of us.

Starman's Meat Market became the Liquor Store. There was a back door to the place. Discretion was guaranteed.

Then the makeover moving the entrance to the front door under a font nobody could read, a third color of brick, later a yellow awning with a Times Roman font big enough to catch way too much attention which was all together too much for some. Habits reverted.

Then in the early 80s came the wall. Discretion was once again possible.

Bob now knows you want that bottle in a bag. Double bag is even better.

Brings to mind the days of the setup and BYOB when in the backroom of Cer's one could rent a locker for one's bottle(s). The bottle(s) that went into the bag across the street, frequently came out of the BYOB locker but never out of the bag.

Nobody needs to know what we drink in 56572. Bob and Company are sworn to secrecy.

Will Bob soon decide to start using the back door once again? Will the new Liquor Store be designed with a back door, will the main entrance be 'round back? Two entrances maybe? McDonald's has proven the value of a drivethru. Are drivethrus even legal in Minnesota Municipals? Should be for Scandinavian tainted towns like this one.

All things one needs to take into account when dealing with Scandinavians who in certain things value their privacy more than you might guess.

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