Back then, way back then, on a hot summer day in Washington, D.C. you could sell a slice of watermelon from a barrel of ice water on the street for a dollar, and you could buy a truckload of watermelon in the summer in Georgia, Florida or Alabama for 10 cents apiece. So we did. It was Roger’s idea.
Dan King photo
He bought a used truck with a used trailer somewhere in Maryland, and we drove it down the interstate to D.C.
Even in the summer, driving a truck with 17 gears down an interstate highway with no windshield is very hard work, but we did it. Reconditioned, the truck was driven by Dave Fuller or his brother, I can’t remember which, twice a week bringing watermelon and fruit and vegetables from the south for us to sell.
We rented out empty corner lots in eight or nine locations over the D.C. area, cleaned them up, built simple constructions out of two-by-four lumber with canvas or tarpaulin stretched over the top, and filled them with tables bearing fruit and vegetables that Dave brought up from the south as well as fruit and vegetables bought fresh each morning at the farmer’s market in southeast D.C.
We had an old pickup truck running the cakes of ice and fresh fruit and vegetables to the eight or nine selling locations.
It must have been a success, because there were several instances of our canvas-covered structures mysteriously catching fire in the middle of the night.
Now, you don’t set fire to some place that’s offering you cold watermelon and fresh fruit at cheap prices in the heat of the summer, unless you think it’s taking money out of your pocket or putting you out of business.
History has shown that entrepreneurs are usually given the same welcome as are legislators proposing a new tax, or prophets touting a new god.
Roger knew.
Orrin Frink is a Kennebunkport resident. He can be reached at ofrink@gmail.com.
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