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Harry J. Boyum
1915 – 2003
Boyum's Grocery
Click to enlarge
___ 1909
__________________
The
store was purchased in 1909 by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fischer, who was an uncle
and aunt to Harry Boyum. Owners prior to
that time included an Amborn family, a Mrs. Meisner, Frank Wetter and a
Druczinsky family.
___ 1942
__________________
-- -- ENTERED U.S. ARMY
Boyum started
helping his uncle when he was in the seventh grade. He helped out after school and during the
summer vacation. His uncle died in 1933
and Harry continued to help at the store, where he remained until entering the
Army in 1942.
___ pre 1943 __________________
-- -- JOSEPH L FISCHER,
GROCER
Joseph
L Fischer, grocer, and wife, left. 902 North
Second. Became Boyum’s neighborhood
grocery
___ 1943
__________________
02 25 HINZMANN BUYS GROCERY
STORE AT 902 NORTH SECOND
Hinzmann
Barber Shop to close its doors Saturday .
Edward
F. Hinzmann, whose barber shop on North Second Street has been under his
management for the past 22 years, will close his place of business Saturday
night, bringing to an end his long career as a barber here. He announced plans to close his shop some
time ago and today he stated that Saturday will be his final day at the shop
and that it will close that night.
Mr.
Hinzmann took occasion to thank his patrons and the public for their generous
support throughout the years he has been in business here.
He has
taken over the Sixth ward neighborhood grocery store at 902 North Second Street
which was operated for many years by Joseph Fischer and later by Mrs. Joseph
Fischer and will operate that. Watertown Daily Times, 02
25 1943
___ 1944 __________________
Watertown Daily Times, 6 June 1944
Pfc. Harry Boyum has been transferred
from Fort Benning, Ga. His new address
is: Btry. C., 252 F.A. Bn., Camp Rucker, Ala.
Watertown Daily Times, 22 December 1944
Two brothers, Pfc. Harry Boyum and Pfc. Andrew Boyum, met in Germany.
___ 1946
__________________
In
1946 Boyum purchased the stock from the Hinzmans and has maintained
the operation since that time. In 1949
he married the former Alice Baurichter of Watertown. It was shortly thereafter Mr. and Mrs. Boyum
purchased the store from Mrs. Fischer.
___ 1977
__________________
09 28 CLOSING OCTOBER 1st
The
corner grocery store, once a common business throughout America, is gradually
fading from the local scene.
Boyum's
Grocery, one of the last of its type of store, is closing on Oct. 1. Along with the demise of that family business
will be the penny candy that has made children in the North Second Street area
happy for decades.
"The
penny candy was hard to get for a while when sugar prices were so high,"
said Mrs. Boyum, "but it is available again for the children."
The
store, with its original heavy wooden canopy extending over the sidewalk, dates
back to the turn of the century. The store was purchased in 1909 by Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph Fischer, who was an uncle and aunt to Harry Boyum. Owners prior to
that time included an Amborn family, a Mrs. Meisner, Frank Wetter and a Druczinsky
family.
Boyum
started helping his uncle when he was in the seventh grade. He helped out after school and during the
summer vacation. His uncle died in 1933
and Harry continued to help at the store, where he remained until entering the
Army in 1942.
During
his absence the stock of the store was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Edw. Hinzman,
neighbors of the Fischers. The store was
rented from Mrs. Fischer until her nephew returned from Germany in 1946.
In
1946 Boyum purchased the stock from the Hinzmans and has maintained the
operation since that time. In 1949 he
married the former Alice Baurichter of Watertown. It was shortly thereafter Mr. and Mrs. Boyum
purchased the store from Mrs. Fischer.
During
the years in the grocery business the Boyums reflected on a number of changes
which included switching from bulk to packaged goods.
Boyum
said, "One of the reasons for the demise of the small store is that the
acquisition of merchandise is limited to large amounts, the supermarkets all
have their own warehouses. They buy in
truck or carload shipments. The small
wholesaler went down too, with the trend in retailing. Some have changed to institutional
suppliers. The young people today are
all geared to the supermarket method of shopping. Business has changed and ways of shopping
have changed. People use more of the
ready to eat, fast food type of merchandise."
The
Boyums had purchased their food from Burlington Wholesalers until Burlington
discontinued its retail division. Now
Boyum drives into Milwaukee to get the merchandise from a cash and carry
department store of Associated Grocers.
Everything
imaginable was sold at Boyum's including canned goods, beer, soda, bread, fresh
pastries, sausages and cold cuts, jellies, jams, cereals, baking supplies,
school supplies, soaps, toiletries and produce.
Mr.
and Mrs. Boyum do not work the typical 40 hours a week. The store opens at 7 a.m. and remains open
until 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sundays from 8 a.m. until noon. The Boyums remained open on the holidays
during the morning, with the exception of one holiday a year, Christmas Day.
Boyum
said "our people" (his customers) find it easy to send the children
to run a shopping errand or just to treat themselves to candy. A number of "our people" still come
in from the country to get their supplies.
On occasion someone would call to phone in their order and ask for
delivery, which was promptly made.
"We
have always treated 'our people' right, they were good neighbors and friends as
well as customers and they have stayed with us.
We can figure out just what these people want and if we don't have it
we'll get it for them as long as we can supply it." Boyum went on to say, "These are nice
people and they are wonderful to us. We
have a loyal following which is something we will never forget. I don't know how we will ever be able to
express our appreciation to these people and let them know how grateful we are
to them."
The
Boyums plan to do some fishing, traveling and visiting, and things they didn't
seem to have enough time for before.
They plan to remain living in the apartment located behind and above the
store, while the store will be rented by Mrs. Tom Maas. Mrs. Maas plans to use the facilities at 902
North Second Street for a picture framing business.
The
services the Boyums provided over the past years will be greatly missed in the
neighborhood, especially by the children.
During this interview with the Boyums, the writer was invaded by
numerous children whose purchases ranged from donuts and milk to candy and
soda. The glass window framing the candy
display was as clean as crystal at the beginning of the interview, soon to be
filled with fingerprints of small children anxiously awaiting to make their
selections.
The
various customers stopping in during the interview were recognized on a first
name basis, something that is not often found in today's fast-moving business
life. Watertown
Daily Times, 09 28 1977
09 24 HARRY J. BOYUM 1914-2003
Harry J. Boyum, 87, formerly of 902 N. Second St., died Sept. 24, 2003
Funeral
services were held at St. Henry Catholic Church with the Rev. Bernard Rott
officiating.
Burial,
with military graveside rites by American Legion Post 189, was in the parish cemetery for this WW II veteran.
Harry
was born Nov. 3, 1915, in Stoughton, the son of Andrew and Josephine
Boyum. He served during World War II in
the 252 Air Artillery Unit in the European Theater.
On July
2, 1949, he married the
former Alice Baurichter at St. Henry Catholic Church. She preceded him in death on March 15, 2001.
Harry
and his wife Alice ran the former Boyum Grocery on North Second Street for many
years.
I have the fondest memories
of stopping there, I swear after school every night walking home, and yes for
ten cents or so it seemed like I got a bag of candy!! The Indian-whatever
salted pumpkin seeds in the red and white bag, the twister hard sour candies,
the sweet tarts, those dot candies on the paper strips, yes . . . that stuff
!! I can picture yet being in that store, at the counter, looking around
at the candy counter to the left, the ice cream freezer to the right, all about
the size of a small walk in closet [contributed memories].
He was
a member of St. Henry’s Catholic Church, American Legion Post 189 and the
Knights of Columbus where he served as treasurer for many years.
Survivors
include two sisters-in-law, Rosemarie Boyum of Lake Mills and Lucille Boyum of
Beaver Dam; nieces; nephews; great nieces and nephews; other relatives and
friends.
He was
further preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Andrew and Edward
Boyum; and one sister, Katherine Wolff.
SURVIVORS:
Sister-in-law Rosemarie Boyum of Lake Mills
Sister-in-law Lucille Boyum of Beaver Dam
Nieces; nephews; great nieces and nephews; other relatives and friends
PRECEDED IN DEATH:
Parents Andrew and Josephine
Wife Alice
Brother Andrew
Brother Edward
Sister Katherine Wolff
___ Tributes
__________________
Fond
memories of going there as a kid!😊
The
patience Harry had with us kids!!
Always
a stop for us walking the back way home from Douglas school. Penny candy❣️
Boyum's
was about two blocks from our house. Made many trips there picking up
necessities for mom. Of course, the candy counter was a favorite part of the
store. Harry and Alice were such nice people.
We
stopped in here all the time, too. The candy, popsicles, etc. They had a lot of
merchandise packed into that little space!!
They
were always so kind. When my mom needed a few groceries I would ride my bike
there.
Mom
would give me a Dollar and send me to get 10 candy bars!
Weren’t
there loaves of bread below the candy case? And there was a really narrow aisle
with shelves behind the cooler case on the left of the. picture. I think there
may have been school supplies on that aisle.
Great
memories of walking to Harry's with my neighborhood friends.
Loved
going there & they were the nicest people!
I
miss them!!
Would
stop there on the way home from St. Mark's School.
Every
time I had two nickels to rub together, we went to Boyums!! What awesome
memories!!
Went
there all the time!
Harry
and Alice were the best. The penny candy was great!
It
was the best!! Couldn’t wait to go there!
When
we were kids this was one of our ultimate favorite places to go to get all
kinds of good candy
They
lived behind the store. A lot of times, their kitchen smells would come in to
the store. Sauerkraut, among other smells. I think Harry used to deliver
groceries to my grandmother down the street at 1130 N. 2nd, unless I'm mistaken,
and some other store did that.
I
remember those days! Went there alot, after going to the Pool!! The good old
days.
Harry
& Alice knew all the kids by their first & last names. They always had
a smile & a kind word. We walked or rode bikes with neighborhood kids
several times a week to Boyum's. How patient Harry was as we slowly made our
choices from the large selection of penny candy. I felt like the luckiest kid
in WTTN to leave the store with a little paper bag with 10 pieces of candy I
picked out myself.
___________________________________
Watertown Daily Times, 09 29 2003
Editor, Daily Times:
The
death of longtime Watertown resident, Harry Boyum, marks the latest example of
someone passing away from what author Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest
Generation." These individuals grew
up during the Great Depression and World War II. At a time when they should have been enjoying
life, these men and women were risking their lives for the cause of freedom.
Brokaw states, "They answered the call to save the world from the two most
powerful and ruthless military machines ever assembled, instruments of conquest
in hands of fascist maniacs." Harry
Boyum was many things to many people but he unmistakably was a veteran of WWII,
with extensive first-hand exposure to the brutality of war and dictatorships in
Germany and Europe.
Brokaw
also states "this generation was united not only by a common purpose, but
also by common values - duty, honor, economy, courage, service, love of family
and country and above all responsibility for oneself." So true for those of Harry's generation, yet
much less so for those who have come after this special group of Americans.
Harry
and his wife, Alice, operated a small neighborhood store on North Second
Street, called Boyum's Grocery for over 30 years. This grocery store was first opened and
operated by his uncle, Joseph Fischer, in 1909.
I remember as a youngster attending St. Henry's, the thrill of racing
down to Boyum's Grocery prior to school, to buy a bag of penny candy. He loved seeing kids come into his store and
had no problem with giving them more treats than what they had paid for,
sometimes to the displeasure of his wife.
This neighborhood
store also had their house within the same building, so they were never far
away, in terms of providing a level of service that businesses today could not
match. It was not unusual either for
customers to buy items at Boyum's Grocery "on a tab," with the terms
of payment to be worked out later. The
remarkable thing about stores like Harry's is that they made a living doing it,
and they took pride in what they were doing for a living. Sadly, this same opportunity is not
realistically available today.
Like
so many others of his generation, Harry was actively involved in his
community. He served in the Knights of
Columbus for 25 years, was a lifetime member of the American Legion and was an
active member of St. Henry's Parish.
Until a few years ago, while Harry's wife was still living, the two of
them would regularly attend Mass, at times on a daily basis, if the weather
permitted. Seeing the two of them
crossing the street, at the corner of Cady and Fourth Street, was inspiring,
and a bit entertaining for other members and anyone else going by. They stopped traffic, but it did not stop
them from attending church.
These
virtues mentioned earlier, of community service, practicing your faith, love of
country, hard work ethic and personal responsibility, are ones reflective of
Harry Boyum and many of his generation, yet the same cannot be said of the Baby
Boomer Generation, Generation X and those growing up in today's world. The consequences for our nation and all local
communities will be obvious and negative, unless something happens culturally
to turn things around.
Ken
Berg
History of Watertown, Wisconsin