It was 1948. Or was it 1949? Either way, I was a young boy living on Empire Avenue West in St. John's while winding my way to becoming a man. Empire Avenue, a grand name for a road that at one time carried narrow gauge railroad cars and was fondly, but at some other times derogatory, called The Track. Regardless of what people called the street that I lived on the only thing that mattered to me was "it was the place I called home". In the summer of 1948 I was 6 1/2 years old, and being the oldest boy in our family I was required to perform tasks that were not becoming of girls, such as my older sister, and one of those tasks was going to Tucker's store, a two minute run for me, down the street from our house. This task also fell to me as I was always the first one home from school at dinner time (lunch time in Ontario) and with order book in hand I would run off to Tucker's to get a pound of bologna, Maple Leaf of course, a can of Clarke's beans or some such other commodity for dinner. At Tucker's store you could buy just about any thing needed for day to day living. Canned goods, baker's bread, tin goods, salt beef in a barrel, even Target tobacco and papers for rolling tobacco, Chesterfield and Camel cigarettes and I remember Winston's. In 1948/9 smoking was cool, every body smoked and while neither of my parents smoked. I was not admonished at age ten or eleven for smoking a Camel I could get for ten cents a pack from a family friend who was stationed at Pepperel Air Force base. If I only knew then what I know now! Back to Tucker's store. Having left Newfoundland in 1964, 3 days shy of age 23, and only returning occasionally I don't know what happened to Tucker's Store. But as I romanticize now and again about a time and a place where happiness was a way of life and the future seemed to be filled only with promise I think Bob Tucker's Store was a temp plate for the Supermarket of today. I may be wrong but no one will ever be able to convince me that I am not right in my thinking!   Submitted By: Randolph Toope