Muscatine

 I remember as a kid walking up to the shopping center to buy cigarettes for my dad.  My folks would just write a note, and the guy at the store sold them to me.   That would never happen today.

Holy cow, Thanks for making me remember even more!

I did the same thing. Dad would write me a note and send me up to Wareco to see "Dutch" for smokes.. Old Dutch would always sit me down and give me a can of Worms Soda and tell me, "Now dont be smokin those things. I'm gonna call your dad and make sure he got them. Now finish up your soda and git for home!" He never did call my Dad to make sure he got the smokes, but the thought him doing it scared me...  Now that I think even more about the old neighborhood it seemed like back then I had alot of parents. Every adult in the neighborhood was your parent. They would swat you on the butt and send you home if you were being bad. I got my but swatted by the old lady across the street more than once for running through her flower bed, and of course mom waiting for me when I got home because she got a call about it. When your a kid you look at it like the neighbor lady is a mean old lady. But all in all they were all lookin out for all the kids..Disagreements between neighbors would end with a handshake or a hug. Parents didnt have to ask you where you were going because they knew that all the parents looked out for all the kids. Every house in the neighborhood had a cold garden hose to drink from and when you needed to get home, your mom would yell out the door and if you didnt hear her then you would hear another parent yelling.. "your moms callin for ya, you need to git home"

I can remember most if it like it was yesterday..

On payday after work I'd take the family to the Rockabye for a supper of those yummy ground pork sandwiches.

Reifes on Locust in Davenport.  It was a drive-in with carhops and great tenderloins.  The Memri, Semri, and Oasis drive-in movie theatres.  Petersen's department store in downtown Davenport at Christmas with the window displays.  Credit Island golf course...18 holes back then with the longest hole in Iowa, a 627 yard monster.  You could play for a  50 cent junior rate on certain days.  Quad City Angel games at John ODonnel stadium with an old vendor named Les who would sell you a cold Old Style at a very young age.  Learning the hard way why it's a bad idea to take an inflateable war surplus raft for a trip down a raging flooded creek (inflatables tend to deflate quickly when they hit something sharp)  Sledding at Fejuvary Park down the hill, onto the park road, and past the swimming pool.  Dad would drop us off in the morning, and pick us up late in the afternoon.  Bowling at the Hob-Nob, a six lane landmark in the west end. 

I loved Ernie's! He was so patient when you was picking out your penny candy and he kept a total for you, so you knew how much you had left to spend. His wife scared me though. She always looked grouchy and I was always dissappointed when Ernie didn't wait on me. I still remember his front screen door had a wonder bread sign on it.