"Then it was on to egg candling.  We bought eggs from the farmers around Victoria.  Most farmers had chickens and they'd bring in their eggs for trade.  There were hundreds of farmers bringing eggs in.  We had our own Victoria egg cartons made with a Victoria label.  It said Victoria Eggs in big print and Notermann Brothers in small print."
The Notermann Brothers were Michael (Tom's grandfather) and Frank (Tom's great uncle).  What was Uncle Frank like?  "I didn't get to know him but I knew my cousins Al and Betty, his kids.  I remember visiting Al, who had multiple sclerosis, and Betty took care of him until he died.  Then Betty married Milton Fink."
Uncle Frank had died back in 1950, at which time John Schneider came in as a partner in the store with John Notermann  "I remember John Schneider very well," said Tom.  "He was a very nice man.  He did all the dry goods, while my dad took care of the groceries."
Tom continued to see the ghosts of Christmas past among the egg cartons.
"Every Tuesday and Friday my dad would peddle the eggs in Excelsior, Deep-haven, Nicollet Avenue.  Most were Ma and Pa stores.  We also had a hospital that would buy bulk - 30 dozen cartons. 
"The bad eggs we shipped to New York.  We called them Grade B.  We shipped them by train.  Dad would take three to four cases a week to the Minne-apolis Train Center.  Grade B eggs had hairline cracks or a blood spot or a big air pocket ...
"Eventually Don Jesberg took over the egg route for Dad.  Don did that for many, many years.  His bursitis was so bad one time that I drove the truck for him even though I didn't have a license.  But I drove ever since I can remember.  Don also stocked for us."
Tom's own apprenticeship in the grocery business continued at the Noter-mann Store throughout his school years.  "I became a stock boy in sixth or seventh grade," he said.  "I stocked shelves and marked prices - right on the can or box - with a grease pencil.  If the price changed, you could rub it off ...
"I did that all through high school.  I started at 50 cents an hour and when I got into high school, I got a buck an hour.  I worked every night after school and ten hours on Saturday.  I had money to burn.  That was $18 to $20 a week!  I was fluid."
Tom laughed at his revived exuberance.  "That's when gas was 29 cents a gallon," he said.  "I could put a buck in the car and go all night.  I started driving in 1956 or 1957."
As Tom continued to feed the ghosts of Christmas past, he recalled being the firstborn of 13 children.  "When we went to church, we couldn't all go at the same time so Dad gave me the old car to drive.  I remember one time Dad had a brand new '57 Plymouth and it wouldn't start but my 1950 Ford started, so we got into my old car ... but at the stop sign a beer can rolled out from under the seat and I shuffled my feet like crazy to hide it and kick it back.  Funny how you remember things like that."
John and Ethel Notermann success-fully raised their 13 children off the fruits of the store.  Part of their success was related to the free advertising and excellent location along the Yellowstone Trail - also known as Old Highway 5 and, today, as Stieger Lake Lane.
"When Highway 5 came through in the '50's, the competition grew," said Tom.  "Everyone was bidding for the business.  Eventually we closed off the dry goods and became a grocery store.  We closed off the whole lower level sometime in the '60's, I'd say ...
"The lower level was still open while I was in high school.  I remember that because we had mice problems down there and I had mousetrap duty.  Every morning and every night I checked and set traps.  I got paid per mouse.  I don't remember if it was a dime or a quarter per mouse."

Tom Notermann graduated from Chaska High School in 1959 and also got married that year.  "I was 19 years old," he said.  "We lived in Chaska for several years.  I worked for Dad a while.  I redid all those apartments upstairs at the store.  I painted all the walls.  I sanded all the floors.  They're still beautiful.  I did the hallways and every room and then it was so nice my wife and I decided to move there.  There were six or seven apartments above the store.  Lots of us kids lived there off and on over the years ...
Click here to continue Ghosts of Christmas Past.