A friend of mine from Ohio joined a FB group yesterday for an old market that was in where I grew up, West Carrollton, Ohio, and I felt compelled to join it. The store itself, Woody’s Market, was originally a farm stand on that lot in 1944 before turning into a market and general store. They added a restaurant that spanned over the road that led to I-75 and called it “The Over-the-Road Restaurant” appropriately, in the 80’s. We didn’t shop there much when I was a kid (i think?), but occasionally we would get stuff from the bakery or deli and I have a couple memories of being in the bakery there as late as 1996 or so. I had heard many years ago that they were tearing it down and when Google Street View came up for the area I looked and saw the remains of the building that stood at the corner of Alex-Bell and E.Dixie Dr. Ironically if you look at the Satellite View, which I presume was taken before the 2007 demolition, you can still see the building there, however in Street View you see the building no more. The former lot now is home to Eli Cakes whom was started by the same people who worked in Woody’s Bakery, preserving those awesome cakes I vaguely remember, and the parking lot across the street is now home to a Sonic. The Little Farm building where they sold beer and liquor is still standing in that lot as well.

I haven’t been back to West Carrollton since 1999 and being almost 11 years now everything has probably changed so much I wouldn’t be able to drive through there now and know where I was going. All the roads, all the sights, everything in my head that I remember can only remember how everything looked over 11 years ago. The funny thing about change is that while I accept it ultimately in the end, and often wish it all the same, I often feel that I am losing something in the process, something I can never get back, and perhaps that is the foundation for why people try to cherish their childhood so much, because you are able to just simply absorb the world around you, take in every little detail, because eventually when you get out into that world, you often find yourself without the time to do that very thing. Woody’s was just one of many places I recall from back then that held no real significance, but simply reminded you of where you were. Every car trip that involved getting on 75 we passed underneath the restaurant, every time we went down the main street and then onto Alex-Bell to go over towards Centerville, Kroger, or Meijer, it was there at that intersection. You come to associate so many things in your mind from where you were, and that place was one of them.

I plan to make it a point to drive out to West Carrollton if not this year than next, just to spend a day or two driving around, take some pictures, and record just how much has changed since I last left. Maybe if I manage to find a few people still living there or around there, go out to lunch or dinner or something. It should be fun.