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Wednesday, December 6, 2000 A tale of two ladies By
JANET McGREGOR Ask the regulars at the Braelinn Kroger in Peachtree City to say something about Mary Robertson and Martha Cox and you'll get an earful. "They're the greatest," one regular tossed out as they walked by with their shopping cart. John Roy said, "They're tops - they are the biggest drawing card Kroger has." Dennis Chase says they are "some of the best advertising Kroger has." Thedra Cook added, "These two women are fantastic." The duo man what Roy has dubbed "Mary's Snack Bar" at Kroger on Wednesdays and Fridays. The two switch off days and departments with Mary usually at the coffee and snack table on Wednesdays and Martha on Fridays. Mary, who recently celebrated her 80th birthday, has been working three days a week at Kroger for eight years. On Wednesdays she works at the "snack bar," on Fridays she can be found in Customer Service and on Saturdays she holds down the fort in the bakery. Mary sparkles. From the top of her smiling face to the tips of her golden shoes, she exudes warmth. She greets most of the shoppers by name, asking a question about their health, enjoining them to take care of an ache, or sharing a supportive comment. She jokes. She pours coffee. She makes sure a favorite cookie or donut is ready for a regular shopper. And she lends a sympathetic and caring ear. Mary Robertson hales from the north. She was born grew up in Detroit. Her first job was in the office of the Detroit News where she earned $18 a week and thought she was in "high heaven." She met her husband, who was from Miami, when he returned from a five-year stint in the service. When he asked her to marry him she had one stipulation - "I said I would if he would let me stay in Detroit around my family." She married him and then she says, "winter came and he couldn't stand it. So we moved to Miami." Mary worked for 27 years with JC Penney in customer service. She has three sons who are living in three separate parts of the United States. The oldest, John, lives in Seattle, Washington. Chris, with Delta Air Lines, lives in Peachtree City with his wife, Cathy. The couple has two girls, one who is married with a two-year-old daughter, Nicole. Chuck, an architect, lives in Miami with wife Yadira. He has three children Lauren, 10; Ashley, 6; and Carolyn, 2 months. Away from work, Robertson spends time with her husband, 93, who is in Southland Nursing Home in Peachtree City. He was recently honored as the oldest veteran in VFW Post 9949. Robertson is a member of Holy Trinity Church and a supporter of the Southern Conservation Trust because "I'm very interested in environmental issues. I hate to see the beauty of Fayette County destroyed." Asked why she chose to go back to work in her 70s, Robertson said, "I didn't know many people. I was used to working." Smiling, she said, "I never thought Paul [Yellina, the store manager] would hire me at my age." Yellina, like many of his customers, can't say enough nice things about Mary. It seems that Robertson may get as much from her customers as they get from her. "I get to know people and hear so many touching stories and so many happy stories. It keeps me from feeling sorry for myself." Martha Cox has been with the store since late 1994. She takes care of the coffee and snack table on Fridays and works in the Meat and Seafood departments on Wednesdays and Saturdays. She always has a warm smile and a willing hand and obviously enjoys her work. She initially started working at Kroger "to get out and be around people." She continued working because "I enjoy it. The employees are very nice, the customers are always interesting and I am around people of all ages." When Martha isn't working she is enjoying her family, reading, sewing or walking. She has two daughters, Carolyn Pfeifer and Cynthia Armstrong, who live in Peachtree City. Four of her six grandchildren, who range in age from ten to nineteen, also live in the area. Her son, Richard, lives in Baltimore with his wife and two children. Martha was born in Pennsylvania and has lived in a number of places in the states including Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware and New Jersey. She moved to Peachtree City from New Jersey after her husband retired to "get away from the snow and ice." She noted that she wasn't thrilled with the idea of moving to Fayette County at first, but once here, "we liked it." She said, "You always have a place in your heart for where you lived most of your life. But you can't go back, things change." She feels very fortunate to be working at Kroger and was pleased when Yellina hired her. While her children were growing up she did not work outside of the home. A trained nurse, she returned to work on a part-time basis at a Nursing and Rehab Center, then moved to full-time. Although working at Kroger has a different focus, she says, "There is a lot of joking, sharing and the group is always growing."
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