Concord Monitor Editorial
Americans rocket around in their
hectic, atomized lives, glance off one another now and again,
but rarely have time to stop long enough to bond. Fortunately, some
refuges exist where faces are familiar and time slows enough to
smell the roses or, in this case, to admire a well-carved, marbled
steak.
On Friday, Tony and Deb Heath, owners
of Quality Cash Market on Concord's East Side, thanked the customers
who've purchased more than a half-million kebabs from them since
1986 by serving them soda, beer, burgers, hot dogs and more.
With so much going on in the world,
why write, on a summer Sunday, about shish kebabs? Not because they
are toothsome, delicious and come in an astounding variety of
flavors and configurations, but because, in greater Concord, they
are a symbol of quality, cooperation and fellowship that's become
hard to find.
When Bob Carey, owner of Carey's
Market in Penacook runs out of kebabs or the paper to wrap them in,
he borrows some from Tony. When he eats a hamburger, Carey says, he
can tell whether the meat came from his store, Quality Cash,
Riverhill Market on Horse Hill Road or a supermarket chain. Only one
of the chains, Carey says, sells burger worth eating, and none is as
good as that sold by the neighborhood markets. Ditto for most other
meats.
"We're all friendly and out to help
each other because it's so hard for the small guy to survive," Heath
said as he ground yet another of the day's batches of burger. "If
Bobby needs something, I'm happy to help."
In a supermarket, said Heath who
worked for a chain for a decade, "you're just a number. Here,
whether you're a kid behind the counter or a customer, you're a
person."
Some years ago, Robert Putnam wrote
Bowling Alone, an analysis of modern society that showed just how
frayed social bonds have become. Later, with Lew Feldstein,
president of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, he wrote
Better Together, stories of how groups of people have come together
to solve a problem. Both men have made it their mission to show
people how to rebuild the social capital that's the key to having a
strong and warm community. It's time, perhaps, for them to suggest
kebabs.
On the hot days last week, Riverhill
Market sold them as fast as Joe Waters and his crew could make them,
and when they were gone customers cleaned the display case
completely out of meat. As they did, as people do in all small,
independent markets, they swapped news and razzed each other the way
only friends can. Concord's mom-and-pop markets offer something that
can't be bought: company and community. Some are known for their
specialties, like the Greek food at South Street Market and
sandwiches and ice cream at Ordway's. Others, like Quality Cash,
Carey's and Riverhill Market, win fame for their meat. Each store
has its secret marinade recipes and, like Heath, a longtime meat
supplier who knows what each market likes and where, in the busy
wholesale market in Boston, to find it. Heath has the biggest kebab
selection - 10 varieties in all, including one for vegetarians but
each store is worth a visit. Sample their wares. You'll be doing
yourself and, by helping to keep independent markets in business,
your community, a favor. As Tony Heath says, in those markets,
you'll never be a number.
The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has been working to
improve the quality of life in our communities since 1962. It
builds and manages a collection of funds, totaling nearly $400
million, created by individuals, families and corporations for
charitable purposes. In 2006, the Foundation awarded approximately
$30 million in grants to nonprofits and scholarship funds to
students. Based in Concord, the Foundation roots itself in
communities across the state through seven regions including Lakes,
Manchester, Monadnock, Nashua, North Country, Piscataqua and Upper
Valley. For more information about the New Hampshire Charitable
Foundation, visit
www.nhcf.org or call (603)
225-6641.
