There was a time long ago, when service was a common word. As the colonial period ended and the years passed, the industrial revolution was moving along steadily and merchants dreamed of more profits. The people became the consumers and frequented the many shops down on Main Street in Concord, buying the necessities and a few extras when a spare coin was found in their pockets. People still grew their own vegetables and produced baked goods galore, but the merchants had a plan.
As the term is used again and again, year after year, people searching for opportunities must think outside the box. It is the successful entrepreneurs that practice and learn from experience that do succeed. In our somewhat post-pandemic world, we see local businesses invoking new rules and policies while offering new opportunities to purchase in a safe manner. If you need groceries, you simply order them on the computer and they will be placed in the trunk of your car. If you desire a meal from a restaurant there is a service that will also deliver to you very efficiently while your food is still piping hot. Many years ago, our very own ancestors, those that we descend from right here in Concord, accepted business models that provided opportunities to increase profits by providing better services.
A century ago, the early morning cobbled streets of Concord were quite deserted, the only sound a delivery wagon drawn by a single horse befriended by the lone businessman seated behind the reins. This businessman was engaged in the most modern and efficient business of the day, the business of delivering to your home.
As people became further established and earned a wage that offered a small luxury or two, they spent their money. They purchased ice from the ice man for their ice boxes, they purchased milk and dairy items from the milk man. They purchased coal from the coal man and tin pots from the general peddlers that roamed the country from time to time. You could purchase your firewood and your Bibles from a wagon as well as many additional items. The age of convenience had arrived and our great-great-grandparents were participating in cutting edge technology of the day.
As the solitary wagons traversed the Concord streets early each morning they traveled their established routes from house to house: “good morning, sir. Good morning, madame. How may I be of assistance today?” It was the convenience that opened the many doors around Concord to this modern marvel. It was the quality service that kept the customers. The deliverymen were very good at what they did, and they sold as much product as they possibly could to earn a decent wage and provide for their families. Employment and steady income were both sought and coveted. If you had a job you took pride in your activities and certainly never complained to your employer, or your customers for that matter.
The ice man worked for the Concord Ice Company – selling ice during the hot summer was challenging. The ice would be cut each winter by hand at Long Pond and stored in a warehouse below the surface of the ground where it helped with preservation. Each cake of ice would be covered in sawdust as an insulator to prevent melting. The ice would be loaded onto the delivery wagon. As the ice man traveled up and down the Concord streets, a small card would be placed in the windows of the homes with a number indicating how much ice the customer would like to purchase on a given day. Each side of a card referenced an amount. The card was simply placed in such a manner. The ice man would carve the desired amount of ice from the large cake and attached his ice tongs to lift and carry the ice into the customer’s home. Many times the ice man placed the ice right into the ice box, setting the melting tray below to keep the customers food cool until the next visit.
The milk man worked in a similar manner with most homes featuring a milk box on their door stoops. A ticket with the desired order quantities as well as payment would be left in the box where the milk man placed his cold glass bottles of milk. The coal man drove a large truck and shoveled his coal down a chute into the basements of the homes where a coal bin was located. The coal would be shoveled from the bin by the homeowners into the furnace to warm the house on cold winter days. If you did not have a coal furnace you could still have wood delivered for your fireplace or woodstove. Some homes featured small kerosene heaters, and a kerosene man even delivered kerosene. There was a man delivering chickens and another pots and pans, the modern marvels of a century ago, our ancestors embracing such modern conveniences.
It was the smart child that would follow the ice man on the brutally hot summer days, begging for a sliver of ice. A most delectable treat indeed for a child living in the 19th century.
Sometimes history returns to warm us once again, it returns as we feel we have all grown quite clever. A delivery service you say, a marvel idea. Yes, business is about profits and history is about nostalgia. Sometimes good things do return.