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Mom, a Butcher Shop, and Her First Glass of Wine

Mom, a Butcher Shop, and Her First Glasss of Wine……

I was back in town for mom’s 85th birthday, and we had steaks and martinis the night before her party.  If you want to grill great steaks in Ottawa, there’s only one place you buy them – Polancic’s Meat Market, and that’s where I bought them.  As we were eating the steaks, mom said “you know, the Polancic brothers worked at the meat shop right next to Grandma’s house before they opened their own shop”.  No, I didn’t know this.  As a matter of fact, I didn’t know there had been a butcher shop next to Grandmas.  “Oh yea, it was owned by Mr. Steinbach.  He’s also who sold Grandma and Grandpa their house”.  Now, I was really interested. 

Grandma and Grandpa’s old house – The butcher shop was to the left
 It turns out that Grandma and Grandpa had rented the house from Mr. Steinbach for years, before buying it from him around 1940 (for the princely sum of $4,400).  When they were renting the house from him, a condition of the rental was that Mr. Steinbach was able to live in the house in the “back bedroom”.  That room was off limits to the kids unless Mr Steinbach invited them in, and a whippin’ was the penalty if caught.

One day when she was 7 or 8, mom was in the kitchen and the door to Mr. Steinbach’s room was open.  She couldn’t help herself, and went on in.  Once in the room, she was looking around and there was a trap door open to a different part of the cellar.  She went over to the trap door and there was Mr. Steinbach in the cellar.  He saw her about the same time and asked if she wanted to come down into the cellar.  He held her hand and she walked down the steps.  Low and behold, there were several large barrels in the cellar, one with a spigot in it.  It turned out that he was having a glass of his homemade wine.  He had another small cup there, filled it and handed it to mom, who sat down with him and had her first wine.  They drank the wine and had a nice visit for a while.

After they finished their wine, they both went up the stairs and Grandma and Grandpa were in the kitchen.  Mom was evidently feeling the effects of the wine and was walking a bit funny.  The adults were all chuckling at her staggered steps right up until she slipped and fell against the stove and cracked her tooth.  That started her to crying, but it turned out she was alright.

 

Polancic’s as it looks today
 It worked out well for mom, as she later had a job working  in the butcher shop in 1944 or ’45 when she was 13 or 14.  The Polancic brothers were already working there then, learning the trade.  Later, they opened their own shop.  Today, it’s on the north side of town (and is run by one of the sons and their grandsons).

I love the connections that are in small towns.  I felt lucky to learn about this one.  

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22 thoughts on “Mom, a Butcher Shop, and Her First Glass of Wine”

  1. Hi, great story. My family lived right around the corner from your grandparents home. The Bayuks and the Bohler. I lived there too but they were there long before me but I use to help an old lady that lived in that house with stuff around the house when I was a kid in the 80’s. I’ll probably misspell it but Mrs Groubaugh.

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    1. Another connection! Mrs. Grubaugh was my Grandma. It was her and my Grandpa that bought the house from Mr Steinbach. Were you on Chestnut, or around the corner?

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      1. On Lafayette right around the corner. She would call over if she needed help with something so I would go down the alley. We mowed a few times too. My grandma was on Lafayette on the alley. Bayuks on the corner. Loved your grandma she was such a sweet lady.

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  2. Max, my Grandma Bernardoni was Corinne Steinbach. I think you might be talking about my Great Great Grandpa. How awesome.

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  3. Max, what a thrill to read your account…my mom was Corinne Steinbach, and she spent many an hour working at that store! This is Frank Sr. that you write about? The wine cellar is an often of family lore that didn’t make it through the years. So happy to have it, and to know of the connection with Gen. She apparently worked for Frank Jr, my grandfather…he was a character, too! Loved her while at OHS and must reconnect!

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    1. Betty – for some reason, I didn’t see your post previously. Yes, I believe it would have been Frank Senior. It’s always interesting to me to see the connections around Ottawa.
      Take care…..max

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  4. Max, what a thrill to read your account…my mom was Corinne Steinbach, and she spent many an hour working at that store! This is Frank Sr. that you write about? The wine cellar is an often of family lore that didn’t make it through the years. So happy to have it, and to know of the connection with Gen. Loved her while at OHS!

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  5. Cool history Max! Dad said he used to sell meat to Polancic’s when he lived in Chicago and drove a delivery truck for Swift. Happy birthday to your Mom. Had a great year working in the office during study hall at OHS with her and Carol back in ’73!

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  6. I remember growing up 1/2 block away from the old store. I remember going in to buy candy. I also broke my arm going down the stairs of the Polancic house, which was across the street. Great story.

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  8. Great story about family Max.. Say hello to your mom for me (Jerry Zidow). Sorry you could not make the Hall of Fame festivities. It was fantastic.

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    1. I wish we could have made it….we’d already scheduled a vacation to Costa Rica And couldn’t get back home in time….

      Good to hear from you, and glad you liked the story….

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      1. So many of my fond memories are based in Ottawa, and your family is right up there on the list! When I think of Gen, I just have to smile 😉

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