GLENWOOD, Iowa (KMTV) — On Friday, Family Fare in Glenwood is scheduled to close. The town isn't in danger of becoming a food desert because there's a new store across town. In this case, the grocery store on the square is part of local history, thanks to the family who founded it.
- "It was quite common to see Jewish people in businesses in some of these small towns around," said Harold Kaiman, who was the third generation to operate the local grocery with his older brother, Jerry.
- “My dad worked, as well as my uncle, 80 hours a week as long as I can remember,” said Harold's son, Jeramy Kaiman.
- Generations of teens worked there and learned professional skills from the Kaimans, including Oscar-winning filmmaker Don Hall: “Since the director’s sort of the face of the movie and you’ve got this crew of hundreds of people, you know, try and think about their experience ... I think it did kind of leave a mark in that regard.”
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Glenwood is losing one of its grocery stores and, with it, a little bit of Iowa history. I'm Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter, Katrina Markel.
There is still another grocery store across town, so neighbors will have somewhere to shop, but the loss of this store represents something different.
Harold Kaiman's grandfather, an immigrant from Poland, moved the family and his grocery business to Glenwood in the 1920s.
"It was quite common to see Jewish people in businesses in some of these small towns around," he said.
A little piece of Midwestern Jewish history, in which mom-and-pop stores sprung up in small towns.
It stayed in the family for 85 years until Harold, and his late brother Jerry, retired and sold it. An example of a good work ethic says his wife, Barbara.
“Each of our four children worked in the store because I wanted them to appreciate what their father did,” she said.
“My dad worked, as well as my uncle, 80 hours a week as long as I can remember,” said their son, Jeramy Kaiman.
He works for an international financial consulting firm. He told me he learned as much from his dad about business as anyone, but also, Harold and Jerry knew how to be good neighbors.
“It was a place where people felt like they were seen because my dad, and my uncle and the people that worked there remembered people’s names, cared about them,” Jeramy said.
The store was known for giving back to the community: sponsoring Little League, supporting 4-H and working with the food pantry.
“... But because they deeply cared about the people in the community and they could,” Jeramy said.
Harold and Barbara still hear from the generations of teens who worked at Kaiman's.
Barbara: "A lot. A lot of kids..."
Harold: "A lot of kids."
Barbara: "...have come back and said, 'The lessons I learned wearing your apron.’"
Oscar-winning filmmaker, Don Hall, was one of those kids.
“Since the director’s sort of the face of the movie and you’ve got this crew of hundreds of people, you know, try and think about their experience,” Hall said. “I think it did kind of leave a mark in that regard.”
Hundreds of kids, who took lessons of responsibility and serving neighbors into the world; lessons learned wearing a Kaiman's apron on the Glenwood square.
