Our family lived in two houses while I was growing up. We lived on South Madison Street, in what was the first house to the east as you crossed the Kiljordan Creek. It was a rental home on the corner of South Madison Street and Edwards Street. We moved to East Franklin Street when my parents purchased their first home.
But my grandmother, Louise Stites, lived in Industry. My grandfather, Randolph O. Stites, had been a doctor there, but he had passed away in 1940 when my father was fifteen years old. My grandmother, who came from France, then maintained the home, and she also had an apartment building and a huge garden.
I have vivid memories of Grandma. She was a wonderful grandmother, giving us great cooking, and she always showed her love for us. Her home was decorated with many French items which were precious to view. She spoke fluent English and often told us stories of her childhood in France. Her accent did distinguish her as a woman from that country.
When my parents took a trip for a weekend or for a pharmacy meeting, they would arrange a bus trip from Macomb to Industry for the three Stites brothers—Tom, John, and David. We started these trips in 1960 when we were aged from five to ten, and the ride to Industry seemed like a trip to Chicago. It took only fifteen or twenty minutes, but then we were miles away from our home.
Our bus trip started at first from Roe’s Dairy in Macomb, which was on North McArthur Street, off the square. (The bus stop was moved to the Phelps Hospital later.) We would board the bus and take the trip, to where our grandmother would meet us at the stop in the shopping are in downtown Industry.
At that time, Industry had a vibrant downtown with a drug store that had a fountain with sodas and ice cream, as well as a hardware store, a bank, and other stores. There was a doctor’s office, which on one occasion I had to visit when I fell off a bike and required a stitch on my chin.
We stayed with her for the weekend, and Saturday morning was always a great time. Being French, and having a long experience in creating baked treats, she would cook pastries that melted in your mouth. She had doughnuts, eclairs, turnovers, and other freshly made delectable treats for us. Then later in the day we would enjoy popcorn, at times popped with lard, and it was served with Bubble-Up, which was her favorite soda. Her meals were always fantastic, making our trips so special.
We also enjoyed helping in her large garden. She had many plants to water and collect the fresh vegetables from. One plant that she harvested was the dandelion, to provide leaves for salads. I never knew of anyone else who used that plant for food.
And finally, after our weekend of being far from home, our parents would return to Industry and drive us back to Macomb. We had many stories to tell them, and our memories made us feel that we had been gone for a week.
The three of us Stites brothers could not wait for the next trip to visit our grandmother in Industry.
