Friday, September 08, 2006

The Family Business

My memories started with my mother taking my brother and I down to the store every week to shop and go out to lunch with dad.  For over forty years, my mother has gone down to The Pioneer on Fridays to meet my father for lunch.  They would walk across the street to Barragan's, where a table was waiting for them.  In fact, if for some reason they weren't able to go, mom would call Irma at the restaurant so they wouldn't hold the table.
       Working there on week-ends got me spending money, working there full-time since 1984 got me a house.  Pioneer was my home away from home.  Until its closure, my kids would come visit me, and play hid-and-seek in the warehouse.  Our family was the people who worked with us.
     Closing the store will always be one of the most difficult decisions my family will have ever made.  Life will go on, and the memories I take with me are the people who I saw on a daily basis.
    --Mike Leum

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have the most fondest memories of Pioneer Market beginning when the store was a brick bldg in the corner. I remember going with my mom & dad and playing in the isles with my brother Frank. It always felt like family. I can't seem to remember the emplyees names but I will never forget their warm smiles. I married & moved to Lomita but I continued shop there. I will never forget the day my mom told me it was going to close, I to shop there before it closed and it was overwelming. I cried as I was getting in the car. I wish I would of taken some pictures of it before it closed. Now I only have a Pioneer plastic bags that I kept as a keepsake. I shared it with my kids the other day & told them stories of the famous Pioneer Market. :')
Lourdes DelaCruz-Aranda

Anonymous said...

I have the fondest memories about Pioneer market beginning when it was a red brick building in the corner. I remember going on Thursday evenings with my parents. My brother Frank and I would play in the store. The isles look so long then and would love walking up and down looking through everything. I can’t remember the workers names but I will never forget their warm smile. It was a great store that felt just like home. Frank and I will love to go to the toys & school supply section to see what we can get my mom & dad to buy us. From their meats to their produce everything was fresh & delicious. Even after I married & moved to Lomita I would shop there whenever I got a chance. That is why when my mom told me they were closing it felt like I was loosing a part of me. I cried when I went there for the last time.  I miss it so… I wish I could of taken pictures to show my kids. Now the only thing I share are my memories and a Pioneer Market bag I kept as a keepsake. It might seem silly but I truly wish we can have it back again. I would quit my job and work there if I had to.

Lourdes DelaCruz~Aranda

Anonymous said...

Thank you Mike, My mom always spoke kindly of you. - rudy lafargo