Week 46: This Ancestor Went to Market

 

Mom and Dad in 1973 with their Lake Havasu tans

Why was there no apostrophe???

My dad, Donald Duane Scott, "brought the market" to thousands of customers over the years. Between 1970 and 1989 Dad owned Scotties Catering in Lake Havasu, Arizona, where he drove a mobile food truck that delivered breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to factory and construction workers and employees of small businesses. At first it was just Dad with one truck but over the years other drivers and trucks were added.  

Dad would wake up around 4 a.m. to get the ovens in the back of the trucks lit so they'd be hot when breakfast sandwiches, burritos, burgers, and hot dogs were loaded. The trucks would have been cleaned, restocked, and iced the evening before but in the morning more ice would be added on to refresh the layer covering the sodas and to keep the cold sandwiches that would be loaded cool. Melt-ables like candy bars were brought from cool storage out to the truck shelves.  Relishes were stocked to be ready for the burgers and hot dogs.  Coffee was brewed and poured into the urns. Cigarette stocks were checked.  Then it was time to get armed with the supplies to take the customers' money. Coins were carried in a changer and currency in a canvas belt worn the waist. The previous night the coins and currency had been counted and then a set amount reloaded.  By the time his truck was ready for the road he had worked several hours.

Dad was a well-known and respected figure in Lake Havasu. Before my first summer job of driving one of the trucks I rode along with him on his route for a few days to learn the job. I remember being amazed at how many people in town knew Dad by name, wanted to talk and joke with him when they made a purchase, and considered him a friend. He had a soft heart when someone was short on cash before payday and would extend credit if he knew them. His method for keeping track of charges was to write them on his hand (and sometimes up his arm) in ink so he could transfer it later to paper. Dad loved to trade jokes with his customers and some of his favorites sometimes got a handful of ice thrown at them--trust me, they liked it. For a good portion of the year Lake Havasu is a beastly hot place to work.  His truck had an air horn that blasted an "Ah-Oo-Ga" to let everyone know that Scottie was on the premises.

Scotties Catering was a family affair. My mom was the head cook and kitchen manager, overseeing the making of thousands of sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, and soups over the years. My sister excelled at wrapping hot dogs, driving trucks,  and later at baking banana bread and cookies.  So.  Many. Cookies.  My brother helped clean and service the trucks and occasionally drove a route. During summers after my first three years in college I drove a route.  

Drivers came and went over the 19 years, but Dad was the constant face of Scotties Catering. After several heart attacks it was time to hang up his changer for the last time and enjoy a retired life. Dad sold the business to a nice family who kept the logo so the Scotties trucks still ran for many years.  When Dad passed away in 2014 my sister located one of the Scotties trucks and had it parked outside the church at his funeral.