Leftovers / Surplus Meaning: Grandma Gray and the postwar American economy

By 2003, downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, was so sleepy that on Sundays you could play tennis in the middle of the street. The turn-of-the-century buildings—three stories high in short blocks along Elm Street, the main drag—were mostly vacant. During the weekdays, however, there was still some activity. Mr. Kindley took orders from his desk at his office furniture showroom. Bill at Coe’s Grocery and Seed sold tomato plants, Cheerwine soda, 40s, and cigarettes for under three dollars. Every morning at 6:30 on the dot, Jack Wagner picked up a copy of the News and Record from the box on the corner. Around 10:30, Ralph and his son Mike dragged their used appliances onto the street corner. Blumenthal’s neon signs still advertised an old deal: a chance to win a free pack of cigarettes with the purchase of work wear. Occasionally around noon, a truck pulled up to deliver a piano to John Foy’s shop for repair. By 5:30, the owners of the antique stores and picture galleries were on their way home, and Juanita at Deal Printing was closing up her offices. People shuttling to and from the nearby Urban Ministries shelter in the late evening kept an eye on the otherwise empty streets.