David Kling

Polio Shots & Penny Candy

april 12, 2024

When I was in the first grade at Bright School my teacher sent me upstairs to the principal’s office to tell Mr. Gabbard that our class was ready for our polio shots! Now we were not only afraid of shots but the high school was also upstairs and they were pretty scarey too! I did survive that trip upstairs and my polio shot in part because of Mr. Gabbard and Renck’s Store. Mr. Gabbard sat in a folding chair at the door to our room and as each student received their shot we passed by him and he gave us a dime and sent us on to Renck’s Store. In those days 10 cents bought a lot of penny candy and Mike Renck was patiently waiting behind the candy case ready to fulfill our wishes. Over the years I paid many visits to that candy case and Mike Renck always made me feel like he was happy to see me and let me see how far I could stretch my nickel or dime. No purchase was ever too small and Mike made all of us feel welcomed and important - he was the best!