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After 58 years in business, Sproul's Market on Center Avenue in Blawnox served its last customer March 1, the anniversary of the day it opened in 1952.

The last remaining mom-and-pop grocery store in town closed because, according to Bill Sproul, "I'll be 86 next month and I tell some customers, 'I've been open more years than you are old.' "

Lifting his right leg to reveal a brace supporting his lower leg, he said, "I hobble around, but I can grab onto things."

Sproul said his tax man figured he was earning less than minimum wage as traffic dwindled in his 24-foot-by-24-foot shop with its predictable linoleum-covered floor, yellowed drop ceiling tiles, ancient-but-sturdy shelving and a cash register with wooden slots so worn they've turned black.

"Some of my customers are so old and none of the young people come in any more," he said.

And old they are, as Sproul has a rather large file of unpaid grocery tabs from residents, some of whom have died, neatly filed alphabetically and numerically.

"When I close, there are thousands of dollars there," he said of the years-old tabs. Ironically, there is a sign nearby that reads: "Our credit manager is Helen Waite. If you want credit, go to Helen Waite."

Days gone by

The store that once sold freshly butchered T-bone steaks in the 1970s and ice cream cones still had a small selection of penny candy as its final day neared.

Tasty morsels like Edible Satellite Wafers that look like tiny flying saucers still were a bargain for 5 cents each.

Products of bygone days, such as hairnets, fabric dye, Arco Starch and a bottle of castor oil that used to soothe all ailments still rest on the shelves.

Sproul even had a Coldspot freezer in the back room that he estimated was more than 60 years old.

"Look, it still works," he said, proudly.

Sproul would have closed many years ago, especially if his wife, Edie, would have lived longer.

She died in 1986, just days shy of her 65th birthday.

"I kept the store open to get over that and to keep me occupied," Sproul said.

For Sproul, his fondest memories come from the 1960s and '70s when teenagers would hang out in the store. "This was their clubhouse," he said.

"I used to sell them ice cream cones." But if someone did something wrong, Sproul used his store stock to his advantage.

"I used to shove Limburger up their nose," he said. "Once you got out of line, I grabbed the Limburger and there were 18 kids heading for the door."

Unfortunately, the history is lost on some of the newer customers, though the practicality of the neighborhood shop cannot be denied.

Bill Kriss, 40, of Cheswick works in sales at the nearby Tower Auto and stopped at Sproul's for five years to pick up a pack of smokes and a drink.

"Now I'm going to have to drive down the road to go to the store," he said.

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