Memories of Zerns by Ralph Hassel
I sit here thinking this is almost too difficult to write. That the feelings are too deep to express into words. That the memories are too many and too interwoven to recount with any justice. But I have to say something and recall some of the memories about the place that impacted my life over the past 40 years.
Thanks for the memories Zerns! It’s tough to say goodbye to the place that had a such an impact on my life. I was one of those kids that practically grew up in the market weekend after weekend for many years. Around the mid 1970’s my parents were flea market vendors at Zerns and they eventually opened up a jewelry stand on the inside of the market around the mid 80’s. That stand remains to the last day of Zerns.
As a child, I would spend every Friday evenings and all day Saturday in this market roaming around occupying my time in so many different ways. I knew every inch of that market. I had many Zerns friends who I’d meet up with there every weekend as they arrived with their parents. Many of my friends came for Rick’s Auction while others had parents that worked in the market or operated a stand somewhere in the market or just came there to shop. Many of us met up in the game room where we got good at the playing the countless games that passed through that game room over the years.
So many memories. So many friends. Rick’s Auction, where I met Rob Moser and his family of 15 with 13 kids (Al Moser worked in Ricks and so did Dave Moser his son), Matt and Jeni Evans and their parents Ed and Mickey who were a 2nd family to me for years. Ed and Mickey ran a stand in the flea market selling war memorabilia and to this day I'm still looking for a field jacket like the one Ed used to wear. I loved going to their house from Zerns Saturday night and then getting a ride home with my parents Sunday night. I did that for years. Carl Fichter, a lifelong friend who shared my last day in Zerns last Friday. Carl we had many great times at Zerns.
The laughter still echoes in my head. Rob, Jimmy, Rick, Davie, Jeff, Kelly, Dara, Sue, Yvonne, Stan, Hale, Verti, Wendy, my sisters Sharon and Bev, Tina, Heather, Stephen, Steveski, Bobby, Mike, Jamie, Wayne, Mandy, Beth, too many friends to recount them all, all good friends. The Places… Jake’s Hobby Shop, where I got hooked on the HO race car hobby and had a ton of fun building, painting, collecting and racing my collection. I spent many, many hours up at Jakes Hobby Shop in the north wing where I’d race my collection of HO scale slot cars on their awesome, huge race track. I also met countless friends in the hobby shop including Laurie Saylor, who turned me onto the rock group Rush and was a great friend who liked to talk to us “sale rats”.
I also met my dearly departed friend Wayne Tietz who had a very positive influence on me as a young impressionable teenager. Wayne, you may not know it but you kept me out of trouble just by being you. I still have some of the HO cars that you made on display in my house. Tommy “Bub” Schultz was also another regular there in the hobby shop and a good friend. And of course Jake himself, the chain-smoking good-humored old gentleman who loved us kids as we spent 50 cents for every 15 minutes on that 16 foot long, 8-lane race track.
Zimmer’s Pets, where I bought two of my dogs, Tucker and Midnight, both whom made my life so much more enjoyable. Tasty Maid, where I knew this little brown-haired lady that since I was about the age of about 8 yrs old, would give me three oatmeal cookies when I asked for two, take my money and give me back all of it except for a quarter. It was our little secret and those cookies were so good. She did that for years from the time Tasty Maid was at exit three until it moved to behind the barber shop and finally closed and became Auntie Ann’s Pretzels. The Haufbrau, where I had my regular roast beef sandwich and fries served to me by Joanna Weiser for decades.
The Lite Bite at exit two where I LOVED their chili-dogs! Zern’s Pizza and the thin crust! Yum! A steak sandwich at the steak sandwich stand went well with the fries next door. The sauteed mushrooms were a great weekend treat. The Five and Dime where I bought stupid stuff like comb’s and key chains, a few of which I still own today. The indoor flea market where my Dad got his start in Zerns about 40 years ago.
The Penny Candy Stand at the end of the market where I bought a bag full of penny candy for a dollar and snacked on it all day. Sammy who sold the patches, my dads good friend. Jimmy the one-handed guy who sold the used work wear out on the midway, another of my dads dear friends. Bill Billman who sold the touch lamps, again another of my dads dear friends. The JAM PACKED Midway where people set up tables full of flea market stuff and where I bought another one of my many dogs Rex from a guy named Willie. Also where I had my first job, working for the shooting gallery at exit 3 filling lead shot BB’s into the tubes that loaded the air rifles that people used to try and shoot out the red star for a prize. I got good at that carnival game and later won prizes easily at carnivals elsewhere. The game room where “Pop’s” would make change for us kids and where I developed a love for pinball and the 1980’s arcade game craze. Pacman, Asteroids, Dig-Dug, Defender, Mr. Do, Tempest, Galaga, Galaxian, Super Pacman, Space Invaders, Star Castle, I was there for the beginning of that digital arcade game craze. Pinball games like Gridiron that Carl and I would rack up a dozen games on and give them all to some ecstatic kid because we got bored.
The game room was flanked by Rick’s Auction and it blended a mix of arcade and pinball bells, buzzes, pops and sounds with Rick’s rhythmic auctioneer voice over the buzz of the crowd. Marie’s Stained Glass where us kids hung out and had fun. To this day there is a hundred plus spitballs on the ceiling above that stand that came from us kids 35 years ago. The peanut stand where the smell and sound of roasting peanuts filled the air. Brian at Brian’s Optical, a good friend of the family. Pat who sold small tools and parts out in the indoor flea market, you helped me build many projects Pat. The animal auction and the car auction, where I wandered around in fascination and where I sometimes sat up in the bleachers shooting wet spitballs at unsuspecting people (Sorry!). The Car Auction is where I tasted my first beer. My friend Rob and I found a warm can of Budweiser next to the car auction. We opened it, tasted it and spit it out saying How can people drink this crap! We put the can up on a windowsill to see how long it would stay up there and it was there for a couple of months before we stopped checking.
Schmitty down in the lower part of the flea market who always had cool stuff for sale at prices way too high! I never bought anything from you Schmitty because you wanted too much! Ed the Beer sign guy, I loved your stand! So bright and cheerful! And we loved your little dog too! Jimmy and Rose Robinson who cleaned the men's and ladies rooms weekend after weekend. You were always cheerful and happy and loved to talk, we all loved you guys. Ice cold Pineapple Orange Drink and the two wonderful ladies with the wild glasses who sold their delicious drink. The Joke Stand where I’d buy my gadgets and jokes. The knife stand where the swords scared the crap out of me. The gun shop where I bought my first handgun, one that I still have and treasure. Ryan’s Antiques in the north wing, I delivered the Mercury newspapers to his house and sometimes collected the money from him at the market. The Record Stand where I’d buy my 45’s and later the cassettes that I played so much I wore them out. Carr’s Seafood where a good fish sandwich with loads of Catsup hit the spot! Zimmer’s Camera Shop was the place where I got my first 35mm camera. The Spice Shop where I restocked my spices when I became an adult.
The Snowcones and Cotton Candy stand at exit two! I can still smell the sweet aroma of spinning cotton candy. That smell blends with the excitement of looking at the Joke stand in my head. The farmers who lined the midway with spring plants. Merkel’s shoe store where I bought some great work boots and a few pairs of one-off kids shoes. Rose Zerby and her smoke shop who employed my sisters for a time and was always happy to see us. Jerry the Ginsu Knife sales guy who had a great entertaining presentation.
I always tried to get up near the front so you could squeeze the orange drink into my mouth! Harry who sold the fake fur, Frank the Tool Guy, the smell of kerosene heaters in the winter in the outdoor flea market. The Army clothing surplus store in the north wing where a few of us kids bought WWII Eisenhower Jackets and painted rock group logo’s on the back! VH! I can’t forget to mention Wilbur Hoffer, aka the man with the lady leg sunglasses who sat at the barber shop looking at people who looked back at him with the strangest looks!
When us kids grew into teens, we still met at Zerns and ventured out into Boyertown where we would walk up to the State Theater to catch a movie and then have to rush back to Zerns so we wouldn’t miss our rides home. Zerns was also a staging place for our walk into Boyertown to watch the Boyertown Halloween Parade. We all loved the market. It was the place to go on the weekend.
When I became a married adult, we’d drive to Zerns for our produce and meats and to an occasional Flea market find. And of course to come to see my parents Ralph and Lois Hassel at Beverly’s Jewelry at exit 4. Their stand was always a place I could call home in the market. Thank you Dad for giving me a love for the flea markets. Thank you for taking me to all of the markets, sales, bazaars and flea markets throughout my childhood. Thank you for giving me the freedom to explore Zerns all those early years.
I really didn’t understand how much this market had become a part of my life until I visited Zerns for the last time before it closed its doors forever September 29th, 2018. A long walk through the market opened a flood of memories for both Carl and I. So many subtle memories came back, like that banging sound of a steel plate at the entrance to Rick’s Auction, next to the game room. That sound we heard over and over burned a memory into us that we never really thought about until that last day.
Zern’s you will be sorely missed. The sadness runs through me but so do the good memories that I am grateful to remember. I can still look back today and see the ties to my current life that were directly connected to Zerns. The sights, sounds, smells of the market, the people, the friends, the memories. It was a snapshot of life in Pennsylvania and a big part of this kid’s history. My life would not be what it is today if it were not for Zerns. The people that I made connections with back then still influence my life today. Zern’s you will live on in my memories.