The Old Townie: Oxford’s orphan carts
You don't have to look very hard to find shopping carts in places they don't belong in Oxford, columnist Steve Schnabl writes.
Watch out for our orphans. They might be anywhere around town.
My interest in them began in the 1980s in the Kroger parking lot on a Friday evening when I went to rent a videotape movie. As I left the store, then on Wells Mills Drive at McGuffey (now a Miami services building), I saw a group of young men rolling a full grocery cart to the back of a mom’s hand-me-down minivan. As one of the guys reached for the first carton or bag, another flipped open the back doors and directed the group to lift the full cart into the van, slammed the doors, jumped in and drove away.
I went back into the service desk to report what I had incredulously witnessed. I think the desk was staffed by Donnalu and Brenda, who eventually became my fast friends. I visited either of them at the desk regularly for various updates and to chuckle about the cart kidnap.
I understand that there are circumstances when someone who doesn’t drive or have a car may need to get a large purchase home. The Regional Transit Authority routes in Oxford are limited, but offer an alternative to taking a cart. Granted, a problem may still exist to get the items from the bus to the buyer’s home.
Independent cart wranglers did exist and may still. These kind souls scout the town and load the orphans into vans and pickups to return to the correct business. The wrangler hopes to gain a tip for his/her assistance.
Some prearranged weekday transportation also exists, for those who can afford to pay a bit. People over 60 or adults with disabilities may schedule a pickup from home to the store and a return later the same day by calling Oxford Seniors. The suggested donation for a round trip is minimal.
Uber and the new taxi service also exist, with same day scheduling.
A new grocery cart costs $150-$200 each. The carts are a necessary part of the shopping experience at every non-boutique store in Oxford, from CVS to Walmart. Most are emblazoned with the store name or logo.
I assume that each store that uses carts will experience some annual cart borrowing — or theft, if you strip away the pleasantry. Along with merchandise loss, you can bet the costs get loaded back on prices we other customers pay.
The incident came back to night one evening recently as I drove south on Patterson after a day in Dayton. I snapped a photo of the single small cart on the edge of the sidewalk. Considering that it was during holiday break, I was both amused and baffled.
In the following days, I kept seeing others and would snap a pic, as shown. Why in the world was one abandoned in the midst of a field?
Maybe we could get a kind Miami service organization to do weekly sweeps of town to return kidnapped orphans?
Steve Schnabl moved to Oxford in 1985. He retired in 2023 from Oxford Seniors after a 40-year career directing nonprofits.
