Human connection is imperative to survival. When we were hunter gatherers, being banished from your group spelled almost certain death. These days, doctors report seeing many anxious and lonely people.
A quarter of Australian households are occupied by one person and the ABS predicts this will increase to close to one third by 2046. As our lives are dominated by a relentless pursuit of profit and technological advancement, we are losing the connections that give our lives meaning.
I find meaning and social connection in my local community and the businesses run by individuals and families who are willing to make a personal connection with every sale.
When I had my last haircut, my hairdresser Gina Bertsos, told me a story of human connection revolving around the corner store her parents, Harry and Angie Bertsos, ran for five years at 311 Gympie Road, Kedron.
Harry and Angie married in January 1974, during the famous floods. Harry says Angie was ‘rich’ because she had saved $1,500. The couple borrowed money and bought their corner store (attached to their one-bedroom home) in 1975 with a deposit of $6,000. The Kedron corner store opened from 6am to 9pm, seven days a week. The family only had Christmas afternoon off and Gina says Christmas morning was one of their busiest days.
Harry and Angie Bertsos. IMAGE: supplied
Their days ended with a picnic at 9.30pm at Aspley Park with sandwiches and soft drinks from their store.
Greek coffee and Cadbury’s chocolate
The family started their long working days with a cup of strong Greek coffee and customers began to ask if they could buy one. Angie bought polystyrene cups and began brewing large batches of coffee, making the Kedron corner store one of the first venues in Brisbane to sell traditional Greek coffee as a takeaway. They were also the first local store to sell Cadbury chocolates after a sales rep dropped in to ask if they would stock the brand.
IMAGE: Corner Store Coffee
Gina’s mum was up a ladder restocking shelves a few hours before Gina was born. Her dad dropped his wife off at hospital and went back and served customers until nine that evening before going in to the hospital to meet his newborn daughter. Five days later, the locals met Gina and she became part of their community. Baby Gina watched customers come and go from a bouncer on the freezer as her mum got back to work.
The Kedron corner store was a community hub. In Harry’s words: ‘Customers were not just customers; they became our family and friends. We were invited to weddings and parties.’
Regulars came in for their morning coffee fix, lunchtime sandwiches, or deli goods like ham sliced fresh from the bone. Kids crowded in after school for ice creams and mixed lollies.
Angie Bertsos and customer. IMAGE: supplied
‘If we did not have something, we would get it within an hour for our customers,’ says Harry.
‘We had customers with five-hundred-dollar orders and children with ten cents worth of mixed lollies. We loved all of them.’
Cadbury’s chocolates looked different in the 1970s. IMAGE: supplied
Gina’s parents are now the adopted grandparents in the street where they live. The neighbourhood kids know they are welcome to come over and play while their parents can relax knowing their children are safe and happy.
The Bertsos family sold the Kedron corner store in 1980. It became a music store and is now a furniture shop. However, the Bertsos family still understand the value of having community around you. Of having neighbours who know you and are happy to step in and step up. The value of several generations interacting and supporting each other. A sense of belonging, contributing and being valued.
Why not take a walk around the place you live (or your nearest town) and find the local businesses: cafes, newsagencies, butchers, grocers, bars, hairdressers or pet groomers? Shop local and get to know the people who run the business. We can still build our communities and inject a sense of belonging and pride in the places we live.
Just like the Bertsos family at the Kedron corner store.
IMAGES: all images in this story were supplied by the Bertsos family
