Central Market

When I was a boy, growing up in Lancaster, it was a treat to go to Market. My Dad would buy at least a shopping bag full of meats, cheeses, produce, eggs, etc. at Central Market. Late every Friday afternoon, he would walk in with the food he had purchased. We would have a feast then. I can remember times we would eat at a restaurant upstairs at the Market. There was another time my Father and I took over someone's market stand so that they could go on vacation that day. It was a lot of fun. There was a boy my age who had trouble learning to read and I helped him. Central Market had everything you wanted. There was Thomas's Meats, Steeley's Candy, Hodecker's Celery, Utz Potato Chips where you could watch them scoop up the chips and put them in the bags, Grace's Salads, Spring Glen, C. Z. Martin's, the scent of fresh flowers, freshly-baked goods, Shrimp, Fish, Horse Radish, the best of Lancaster County in one place. It is a real horn o' plenty! Lancaster has been fed for generations.