With the passing of Mr. Hirsch Wengrow last week our town lost an integral piece of its past and I lost a friend. Truth be known, we all lost a friend, for Mr. Wengrow had no enemies as far as I could tell. He was the last true Lincolnton business icon and the likes of him will never be seen again.

Mr. Wengrow was a bastion of good business sense, honesty, and friendliness, a man who segwayed through the twentieth century and the computer age with ease, never abandoning what he knew to be "the only way to run a store." That included long hours, keeping books by hand, and always putting the customer first.

Born in 1924 Mr. Wengrow served in the U.S. Army during WWII from 1943-1946, married Ettie Shatz (we all knew her as "Miss Hettie"), then the both of them established Goldman & Wengrow whose distinction was to become "Lincolnton's Oldest and Largest Department Store."

When I was a child stores like Wengrow's and James Blackwell's seemed to have been there forever. Other stores over the years have roots as deep but those two in particular I remember best from my younger days. The day Blackwells closed my family went into mourning. The day Wengrows closes we'll do the same.

I can only hope Michael continues his daddy's legacy by adhering to the old-fashioned way of doing business no matter how tempting it may be to modernize. I'd guess Wengrows is one of the few (if not the only) stores to still allow you to take clothes home "on approval."

Dear Hearts, do you realize what a convenience that is and how rare it is? Try asking Dillards or Macys to let you take something home on "approval" and see what they say. They'll laugh you right out of the store.

"Charge it, please" were words Mr. Wengrow heard every day but he never made the customer swipe a piece of plastic or suffer interest charges until the bill was paid. He trusted his customers and because he did, most were appreciative enough to pay their bills on time.

Christmas would not have been Christmas without several trips to Mr. Wengrow's store. A devout Jew, Mr. Wengrow's kindness extended to citizens of all faiths and a hearty greeting from him at Christmastime could warm the cockles of even the hardest heart.

I'm going to make some of you progressive minded citizens mad here but…so what else is new? I miss the old Lincolnton. I truly do. I miss all the smiling faces like Mr. Wengrow's, men and women who were as faithful as rain to be at their various posts every single work day of the year in order to serve the citizens of our town.

I miss all the thriving mom-and-pop stores that dotted the streets of town and I miss the time when the only bank robberies we saw were on TV. I miss the time when alcohol and drug abuse was not commonplace. I miss unlocked screen doors, children playing

McKameys in concert

The McKameys will be in concert at Trinity Baptist Church, Columbia Rd., Martinez, Ga., Thurs., May 31 at 7 p.m.

A $5 love offering will be taken at the door. For more information, please call 706-863-1222 or 706-860-8592. out in front of their homes, an ice-cream cone from City Pharmacy's soda fountain, a bottle coke stuffed with peanuts from filling stations on every corner.

I miss the days when the number of cars outside the church on Sunday matched that of the ones outside the football field on Friday night. I miss having Vacation Bible School in the daytime.

I miss town musicals, I miss colored bare-bulb Christmas lights, I miss the playground at the courthouse, PTA meetings that parents actually attended, and home deliveries from Central Super Market and A& M. I miss seeing old men gathered out in front of Jimmy Deason's store leaning back in their cane-bottom chairs trying to solve the problems of the world.

I miss knowing all the names of the faces I see in town everyday. I miss three-month summers. I miss the old elementary school that had one teacher per class, the same teacher, all day long. I miss the days when high school had only had six periods and when all the Seniors graduated at the same time and wore identical class rings..

I miss The Little Shop, Mafelda's, J.P. Wells, and The Leader. I miss the Dime Store, Albea & Son, Western Auto, Walkers Barber Shop, Farmers Hardware, Danners Feed & Seed, Carl Power's, Joe Tatom's, and my Uncle Buddy's (Jiggs) filling stations. I miss Maggie and Doris's Beauty Shop, Will Joe Smalley's traveling veterinary clinic, and I miss Doctor Pennington in his heyday.

Tom Brokaw called the men and women who came of age during the Great Depression (folks like Hirsch Wengrow) "The Greatest Generation" because they were "united not only by a common purpose, but also by common values- duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of God, family and country, and above all, responsibility for oneself."

My daddy was part of that generation as was my father-in-law and lots of aunts and uncles who have gone on to glory. I miss them. All of you, dear hearts, have loved ones and friends who belong to that elite group of Americans and I know you miss them, too.

Cherish those great Americans who are still among us. Take time to listen to what they have to say. They possess a wealth of knowledge on every topic under the sun and we are fools if we don't avail ourselves of it. Visit those who are homebound. Pepper them with questions and ask for advice. Take notes if you must.

It is often said that children are our most valuable resource but I contend that the elderly are every bit as valuable. I guarantee you, the skills they've acquired in dealing with life the last eighty years or so would serve us just as well today.

Contrary to what you might think I am not a pessimist nor do I live life in the past every waking minute. I welcome progress…just in small increments. I don't want my children and grandchildren to become so caught up in the present or become so awed by the future that they forget the past and those who loved them, guided them, and sacrificed so they might experience life in all its fullness.

Duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of God, family and country, and most of all, personal responsibility…..what a legacy! Thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. And thank you, Mr. Wengrow. We will miss you. "Uptown" will never be the same again.