Junky Joes

By Leanne Chase

In little Uniontown, KS there was an institution called Junky Joes.  For a small kid, it was a department store and flea market all rolled into one.  It seemed enormous; old and dusty with all kinds of fascinating buried treasure waiting
for the right kid to find it.  For what seemed like ages we’d seen some of the kids from school playing in their yards with pedal cars.  Oh, Sis and I wanted one so badly.  One hot July afternoon, we took a trip to see Grandma and Grandpa Ralston.  Then we make a detour to Junky Joes. Sis wasn’t quite as enthralled at the prospects hiding inside, but I loved that place.  It just so happened that there was a pedal car in the window.  It was silver colored with red wheels and rust spots, as if it had been left out in the rain. Dad pulled it out to the sidewalk, and I jumped in and pretended that I was one of those race car drivers from TV, as it looked very sporty to me.  I drove it up to where we’d parked our car, and told Dad that we could just take it home with us, and we did!  Sis was jealous until she got one of her own.  We’d hold races in our driveway.  Even though hers had more paint than mine ever did, I loved that little car.  It was a prized possession until bicycles came along in a couple of years.  I don’t know when Junky Joes went out of business or what happened to the building.  Dad told me that he talked to someone who said the old buildings downtown were being refurbished, and they’d found some valuable items, brand new in their boxes, on the shelves at old Junky Joes.  In a way I don’t want to go back to see that old building all spruced up, as it lives in my memories as a magical place full of hidden treasure waiting for the right kid to find it.