Marguerite deAngeli Collection

Lapeer District Library

Butter at the Old Price

Excerpts from a conversation with 8th gradestudents at White Jr. High School in Lapeer, MI on March 14th,1979; deAngeli's 90 th birthday. (from Michigan's MargueritedeAngeli by William Anderson):

Anderson: Mrs. deAngeli, can you tell us howyou first heard the expressions "Butter at the Old Price"and how you decided to call your autobiography that?

deAngeli: Well, you know, as I remember NipsingStreet, not Main Street, Nipsing Street ... you know where theCourt House is, all of you, well, across the side street was UncleDenny's jewelry store, and that's Mrs. Turnbull's grandfather.And I used to love to go in there and he was very kind to me ...so then across from that, on Nipsing Street, was my father's photographgallery - on the second floor ... Anyway, two or three doors downwas my Uncle Charley's grocery store. Then down further, acrossthe street was Uncle Steve Lockwood's general store. And do youknow, do you remember, maybe it isn't true anymore, but it usedto be that a general store had in the front dry goods, yard goods.Of course, we didn't have store clothing at that time. Everybodymade their own, or had a seamstress. Then, the next section wouldbe, china, kitchen-ware. Then, after that would be the grocerydepartment. When women used to come in on Saturday and bring theirbutter to sell in exchange for other commodities and my Aunt Ella,who lived way down - oh, about a mile out of town, used to makevery good butter. Well, there was a Mrs. Desireau, who lived outDavison Road, who was somewhat less a perfect housekeeper andwhen she made her butter and brought it in, my uncle didn't sellit, because he said you could find 'most anything in her butter.So, she complained one time that she didn't get top price forher butter like Mrs. Tuttle did. Well, Uncle Steve said, 'If you'reas careful as Mrs. Tuttle is about making your butter, I'll beglad to give you top price.' So she went home determined thatnext time she would get top price for her butter ... Well, itwas a hot day and in those days, you had to have a cook stovegoing, because people ate dinner in the middle of the day. So,while Mrs. Desireau was working the water out of the butter, shehad to get up to mend the fire. So she put the butter bowl downon the floor, under the table. And there were two or three littletads running around without very much on because it was hot andone of them slipped and sat down in the butter! So, she slattedthe butter of him back into the bowl and said, 'butter'll haveto go at the old price again.' "

"Now this is a story my Uncle Steve toldso how true, it is I don't know! But then - that became a familysaying, you see, and whenever things didn't go as we hoped theywould, we would say, 'Oh no, butter'll have to go at the old priceagain!' "

"In spite of war and human griefs, the geese still flew their uncharted way, the pussy willow soon would burst its bonds of winter and spring would come in its time."

From MICHIGAN'S MARGUERITE DEANGELI with permissionfrom author William Anderson pages 30-31. This book is availablefor purchase from Lapeer District Library.