(FORMER ROYALTON BUSINESSES CONTINUED)

THE HISTORY OF THE LOCATION WHERE THE PHILLIPS 66
MINI- MART NOW STANDS

 

 CHARLIE TAVEGGIA GROCERY

Charlie Taveggia and the Royalton Kroger Store.(Photo Submitted By Mickey Smith)


Charlie Taveggia's Grocery Store was located between Ervins Flower Shop and Blue Front Tavern on South Main Street.

Charlie first worked at the Royalton Kroger Store in the late 1948 or 1949. After leaving Kroger, he opened his own store at the above location in town.

Mr. Taveggie lived in Herrin, Illinois, and drove seven days a week, sometimes hauling his produce from Southern Illinois Wholesale Co. of Herrin, Illinois to provide supplies of groceries and meats to his Royalton Store.
There were many times after long hard hours working in the store until late at night, that he would make his bed on the 50 lb. flour sacks in the back part of his store, too tired to drive back home.

Rita (Stephens) Brannan, who clerked for Charlie, when she was a teenager, remembers how he would sleep in the back room and give hand-outs out the back door to those too embarrased to ask for food during the day when they could be seen by others.

He was very kind to many people of the Village of Royalton and the surrounding towns providing us with credit making sure we had food. Everyone called him Cheatin' Charlie, not in contempt, but in the realization that in difficult times, people need help to survive.

Jesse Garavalia, clerk, became manager after Charlie. Charlie Taveggie retired his tired, crippled body in the 60's living alone after doing much long hard work for many friends and families.

Jessie Garavalia

Pork Roast 27 cents a lb.
Boiling Beef 10 cents a lb.
Pork Sausage 3Ibs. for a dollar
Hams 89cents a lb.
Coffee lb.can 49 cents
Potatoes 10 Ibs. 69 cents

Were those the good old days? 

ROSZKOWSKI GROCERY STORE
BY: Lovean Klein

The Roszkowski Grocery Store was owned and operated by Anna and Joseph Roszkowski on the Main Street of Royalton for many, many years.

Anna and Joseph were both born in Poland near Warsaw in 1885 and 1888. They came to America at a very young age where they later met and married in Westville, Illinois in 1906. They made their home on Meadow Street just a few blocks from the grocery store.

Fifteen children were born to them - 10 girls and 5 boys. They were fortunate to raise thirteen to adulthood.
In 1944, a son, Edward, was killed in action during World War II. A daughter, Henrietta, was killed in a car accident in 1964.

Some of the children helped out in the grocery store over the years, but from this union they were proud to have teachers, nurses, secretaries, businessmen and even an inventor and a Federal Judge.

Many of you may remember that Joseph was an excellent butcher who slaughtered his own cattle and cut steaks and roasts to perfection. He and Anna made sausage and churned butter; always ready to please their customers.

LaterAnna would travel to St. Louis to buy materials and patterns for her dry goods store. It was not unusual for her to help a customer cut out a dress and give instructions for making it. She was an accomplished seamstress.

Over the many years that the Roszkowskies were in Royalton they were active in the Catholic Church just a block from their home. They will always be remembered for their love and concern for the people of Royalton. 

 Derbak's Grocery Store

 Derbak's Grocery Store

"Let Us Serve You".

My father, Frank Derbak, opened the grocery store on Mannering Street in Royalton, Illinois, in 1922. It was a family operated store, and all the children--Mary, Anna, Helen, Nick, Steve, and John--were involved in its operation. My mother stayed at home with my sister, Sophia.

In the early days, the custom was to go to homes, take orders for groceries, and then deliver the groceries to the customers. The deliveries were made by horse and buggy. Our horse, Nellie, was very impatient and wanted to head back home. You could not spend too much time at any house because the horse would start on her way.

There was quite a lot of competition in the grocery business in those days. Customers bought their
groceries on credit. In the beginning, payments were fairly good, but as time passed and the coal mines were not working steadily, some customers changed their grocery store patronage and left their accounts unpaid.

The store was operated by the Derbak family through the Great Depression and the World War II years. During the war, the rationing stamps for meat and sugar made the grocery business more complicated.

The building was divided into two parts; one section was the grocery store and the other was a storage area. The latter was used as a school room when the old east side grade and high school building was condemned. A sixth grade class was taught by Claude Williams in our store building for one year only.

My father was not fluent in English, so my sister, Mary Dohanich, helped in the store for many years. My father made the business decisions, but Mary was his right hand helping in carrying out his wishes. She began working in the store when she was only fourteen years old, and later her daughter, Mary Alice, also worked there.

The store was sold in 1947 to John and Ann Shanders. They sold it to Noble Smith, who sold it to Mike and Angelina Akulow in 1949. The Akulows sold the store to Bill Smillie in 1959, who made it into a home, no grocery included.

John Derbak

May 28, 1995