Remembering her years of growing up on Muskogee’s South Second Street brings a smile to Sheliah Crutcher’s face.

“There were so many families,” she said. “Every house within a few blocks had a father, mother and a minimum of six kids.”

She remembers spending practically all day, every day, playing in the neighborhood.

One of their favorite activities was going through the neighborhood gathering up cents-off grocery coupons. They would get magazines from neighbors and clip the coupons, then take them to one of the neighborhood markets, where they would cash them in.

A 25-cent-off coupon might bring them a penny or a nickel — whatever the grocer would give them.

Crutcher didn’t realize until she was grown that the grocer was illegally cashing them for the face value without having sold the goods.

“If he gave us a dollar or a dollar and a half, we were on,” she said. “Back then, if you had a dollar, you could stay out all day.

“If we got enough, we would go to Mrs. Harold’s and get a hamburger for 15 cents and a soda for a dime.”

If they weren’t able to raise the money, there were always plums or apples growing on trees in the neighborhood that could be picked to satisfy their desire for sweets, Crutcher said.

Times were different

for Crutcher growing up

Besides gathering coupons for money, Bebb’s Greenhouse on Kalamazoo Street often turned a good profit for Crutcher and her friends.

The greenhouse threw out plants that didn’t meet their standards for sale.