Photo of the Month

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April 2008:
Easter Displays at Wheeling, W.Va.

Window display, G.C. Murphy Co. store, Wheeling, W.Va., March 1958

	Past Photos of the Month: 2008 February 2007 December October September August July June May April March February

Enlarged detail of the above photo

Worries about inflation are nothing new, as this photo of a display window at the G.C. Murphy Co. store in Wheeling, W.Va., indicates. “Our Prices Are Still Low,” says the sign, under a banner advertising a deviled egg plate with potato salad, toast and cole slaw for 65 cents — about $4.75 in March 2008 prices.

Busy wives could even buy a fully-cooked ham for $1.19 per pound from Murphy’s Wheeling restaurant. That’s about $8.72 in March 2008 prices.

We actually checked a modern-day Kroger store in Wheeling for a comparison. They were selling uncooked ham for $6.99 per pound, so Murphy’s price for a ready-to-serve meal seems pretty reasonable.

This photo indicate that “chipped ham” (ham sliced paper-thin), which is sometimes believed to be only a Pittsburgh delicacy, was also available in West Virginia back in 1958 — thanks to McKeesport, Pa., based Murphy’s.

Finally, an invitation to visit the soda fountain at the Murphy store in Wheeling. A lot of Wheeling-area residents wish they still could!

(Photos donated by Ed Kinter)

(Previous photo: February 2008, Behind the Scenes at the Bedford, Pa., store)