The Old Sugar Land Meat Market Revisited

I've posted a couple of pictures of the old Sugar Land meat market over the past weeks.  My aunt, Mayme Rachuig Hause, sent me a note about her memories of Mose Norvick, who sold produce in the back of the building.  (The meat market occupied the front.  Other non-produce grocery items, like flour, sugar, cooking oil, etc. were sold at the Mercantile Store.)

"My memory of Mose Norvick: Before World War II, Mose in his faithful old truck with roll- up canvas sides made a weekly trip out to the Humble Camp. The half circle drive way in front of our house was where the school bus stopped each morning, honking the horn for the school children come. It was there about 20 minutes allowing plenty of time to get there, and not miss your ride. Also, this was where Mose parked his truck on his regularly scheduled visits to the camp.

"The truck had a bell attached to the rear and it would ring out  to the ladies to come and buy their fresh vegetables and fruit for the week's menu. Always gracious and appreciative of the purchases which were very reasonable that were made. It escapes me if he quit making the trip because of the gas rationing, or if he had retired during the war years, as someone else took over and it eventually closed. Not certain about this. The meat market and the vegetable stand were completely separate entitities, and not tied together. Customers entered his shop by the little parking area to the east side of the building, not through the meat market."

Here's a picture I found in my archive.  It appears in the book of historical pictures, Images of America: Sugar Land.  My brother Bruce says Charles, Hans & Willie Dierks appear in the picture.  (Hans & Willie worked for their brother Charles, who ran the grocery department of the Mercantile Store.  I assume Mose actually worked for Charles Dierks, but I'm unclear on that.)  I haven't been able to identify any of the people in the photo, but maybe someone can help.

I've tried to identify the building in the background.  I think it may be the Prikryl Hotel, although I'm not absolutely sure. If I'm right, they are standing at the rear of the building that housed the meat market & produce store.  It's out of view on the left.

 

This next photo is dated in the early 1950s.  It shows the Reyes children in front of the meat market, as the sign indicates. 

One last note.  I asked Judy Sciba about Fred Sciba, who ran the meat market shown in these pictures as well as the meat section of the 'new' supermarket on the other side of Highway 90A.  She said Fred Sciba was her father's uncle.