Then and Now, Farmers Market

 Then and Now, the building at 800 Dakota Avenue, North in Huron (SD)

Caption of newspaper photo, from the Huronite and Daily Plainsman of July 22, 1956:

"Opening in Huron this week was the new Jack and Jill Supermarket shown above, located at 800 Dakota Avenue, North.  The Jack and Jill Supermarket franchise is held in Huron by the new store's owners, Mr. and Mrs. Herb Seveland.  The new store has four departments -- groceries, meats, frozen foods and produce -- and features Our Family Foods and Armour Star meats.  The new structure is 50 x 80 feet and includes a large parking area for automobiles."

Herb and Mary Seveland owned and operated Jack & Jill Farmer's Market until they sold the business in 1975 to Don Eden and Verlyn Ellis.

I get a little apprehensive when I see this building; living on the other end of town, I was only in this building once in my life, when it was Farmers Market.  I was about 16 years old and was called upon to take my grandmother potato shopping.  She made and sold lefse and was extremely particular about the potatoes she used so potato shopping was a lengthy and sometimes an embarrassing ordeal.  I was in the store with her while she went through bag after bag of potatoes.  She had the clerk call the manager and she proceeded to chew him out in no uncertain terms for the poor quality spuds they stocked.  I recall slinking off to the car and trying to hide all the way there.  Funny, all these years later I still get that feeling when looking at that building.

Sources:

Google Earth

Huron Daily Plainsman, Huron, South Dakota, Aug. 08, 1956

Huron Daily Plainsman, Huron, South Dakota, July 22, 1956

Huron Daily Plainsman, Huron, South Dakota, June 15, 1980

Huron, South Dakota City Direcgtory, 1958

Huron, South Dakota City Directory, 1960