THE RAINBOW STORE

                                GROWING UP IN ROCKVILLE!

                Hanging out at the Rainbow Store:

                Old time School Street in Rockville was a busy spot in the late 40’s and early 1950’s.  There was the firehouse and offices of the Rockville Journal.  Johnny Gessay owned the Sports Center and a package store, all in the building at the corner of School Street and Union Street. Ed Dymon owned the market and grocery store. The Backofen family had a meat market and in the same building which currently holds a vacant pizza joint, John  Idziak ran the rainbow store.  He sold cigarettes and tobacco, had a neat soda fountain counter and a soda cooler.

                Orange Ball soda sold for a nickel. A generous bag of State Line potato chips was priced the same. At the rear of the store, John had a nickel pinball machine.  John also mixed up a great Cherry Coke at the soda fountain. During the summer when we worked the tobacco fields, we all had money and found out that John could put together a great chocolate malted sundae as well.

                I don’t really know why or how, but somewhere along the line, John picked up the nickname, “Cheap John”.  I think it was maybe because he wouldn’t let us hang out inside the store unless we were eating or drinking or playing the pinball machine.

                Those of us in our early teens, adopted the place as a spot to meet, talk, sneak cigarettes  and figure out what life was all about. Bob Hanson and I were regulars. Tommy Trapp, Milton Schlipack, Eddie Oller, Bob Lukeman, Bob Rankin and Tommy Pleasa, would show up, at the store for a soda, chips, candy or ice cream. Those of us who smoked would light up. Sometimes we’d pool our money for a pack of Lucky Strikes, Camels or Old Gold’s.

                Cheap John was always friendly. When there was a big crew, we would all gather at the back of the store by the pinball machine where someone would raise the front legs of the machine onto their toes, put in a nickel and proceed to rack up a bunch of free games in a hurry. Then we would set the machine back down and take turns playing until the games were gone.

                Cheap John must have known, but the one or two times he caught us doing it, he simply kicked us out of the store for a time and a few nights later we would be back doing it again. He did get upset when we hung around outside the store.

                I only remember John calling the police on one occasion. We were standing around outside the store talking and one of the older kids from a different neighborhood showed up in a car with his girlfriend.  I remember he was a bad apple and none of us liked him much and John didn’t like him on sight. We hadn’t been talking long when John came outside and told us all that there would be no hanging around in front of the door. The kid with the car gave him some backtalk and John went back inside. A short time later a police car showed up and the cop told us to clear out. That was the end of the incident.

                That’s the only time I remember John being disagreeable. He had to be a really nice guy just to put up with us. 

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