There was a beautiful Acme in upper Montclair New Jersey on valley road and
cooper; I believe the building is still there as is my aging (aunt and uncle)
it is now several stores  the largest being a rite aid. In its heyday late
40's   50's and 60's it represented the gleaming prosperity of the affluent
suburbs with the best produce selection, cut of meats and yes who can forget
the S&H greenstamps with the huge smiling gnome(leperchan??) as its symbol
that bedecked the stores facade. Lets see 20 books of greenstamps got you the
cooker 50 books got you the ??? well us kids never got the kool stuff
anyway...but across the street was The Most Classic car culture; hot spot of
North Jersey in the 50's and 60's    BONDS  home of the awfull awfull(Milk
Shake)with  james Dean wanabees shmoozed with girls in poodle skirts in the
parking lots in classic 57 chevys, Fords; T-birds Lincolns 409's
corvettes,fuzzy dice, and Beach Boy 's melodys ;Jan and Dean,Ray
Charles;Ronetts;Shirells;little eva...  as 10 yr old wanabees we could only
skim the fringes;and embaress our older brothers and sisters and  look at the
hundreds of teen agers there who would come after every football game ; to
flirt; party go drag racing; fight; and yes ; fall in love ; it was a one
story affair with a huge Milk Shake on top(Awful Awfull) plate glass windows,
a hot juke box with early Jerry Lee Lewis;patti page hair cuts; delicious
hamburgers; columns of wood with your initials carved into it;and an enormus
parking lot; which often spilled over into the Acme parking as lotsa kids from
the entire tri county Essex area poured in on a  fri sat or sun.Sadly today it
is a bank...where Kids go today ..that has that quality..of  apple pie America
beats  me .no it will proably frighten me ...thanks for letting me  wander
back..to a time where we used to leave the house unlocked and the keys in the
car ..no kidding...we did that ..there was a time....wasn't there?..best of
luck in your research...    regards Michael ....PS  I think there is an old
Acme still going on tenth ave in NYC..or wuz it Harlem ??ken help me on
that...Bronx???