Three Rolls for a Nickel (Published 2016) (2024)

Dear Diary:

Today, almost no one would bother to pick up a nickel, but in the 1930s it was a worthy coin. A nickel could get you a subway ride, a hot dog or a 12-ounce Pepsi-Cola.

At Max’s grocery store on Herzl Street in Brooklyn, you could buy three rolls for 5 cents. The rolls were delivered fresh, three times a day.

Mrs. Cohen, a neighbor, lived across the street from the grocery. She would sit at her ground-floor apartment window, arms crossed and resting on a pillow on the sill, and wait for the truck to deliver the rolls. In the morning, as soon as she saw the delivery truck, she would run across the street, examine each roll and choose one. This ritual was repeated with the second delivery and the third. Then Max would get his nickel.

As I defrost bread for dinner, I think of Mrs. Cohen, who always had very fresh rolls with every meal.