Back when food came from “Bybee Avenue Grocery”

SOUTHEAST HISTORY

By Dana Beck

The Bee, Jul 7, 2010

Scott Griffith comments, “This is what you would see upon entering the Bybee Avenue Grocery. My grandmother Mary is behind the cash register, which is where I remember her being most of the time. I am thinking this photo was taken sometime around 1955-1957.”

Courtesy of Scott Griffith

ADVERTISEMENTS

Need Milk? Running low on bread? Forgot to pick up greens for that salad tonight? Call Belmont 6-3249, and place your order at the “Bybee Avenue Grocery”. Jerry Griffith, the deliveryman, will be sent out in the afternoon with your order….

Hard to believe? Such was life in the 1940’s and ’50’s — a much simpler and more trusting time.

Located near the southwest corner of Milwaukie and S.E. Bybee, the Moreland Market — about which we told you last month — and the Bybee Grocery were two of just a handful of small grocery stores located in the Moreland-Sellwood neighborhood. It was the vigilance and dedication of J. Esta Griffith and his family that contributed to the success of their business as other small shops folded under the pressure of chain stores.

Esta Griffith operated the Moreland Market for nineteen years, and then a golden opportunity arrived in 1952. The Bybee Avenue Store next door at 7011 S.E. Milwaukie, owned by Carl Ritterspacher, was posted for sale. Carl and his family had worked their store for the previous 31 years, and they were ready to retire. Griffith figured he was the right man to buy it, and with a larger staff now needed to operate two stores, Esta called upon his oldest son Bill Griffith to help out.

Bill was placed in charge of the produce section. Twice a week he would travel to Union Street and pick out the best vegetables and fruits to sell. During any slow time, his experience as a carpenter meant he was assigned to make extra shelving, do any remodeling, and make any repairs needed.

The two stores were always a family affair. Esta, and his father in law William Newton, shared duties as premier meat cutters at the Moreland Market -- William gained his butcher experience informally, by being the lead sawyer at the Eastside sawmill. And Esta’s wife, Mary, was always there to fill in when needed. Many of her duties included waiting on customers, filling call-in orders, and managing the accounts, besides raising two boys. Her youngest, Jerry, was the grocery checker, until he was old enough to assist in home deliveries in their 1939 ford Sedan.

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