WESTVILLE – Perhaps nothing is more iconic of a small-town than the locally-owned grocery store where the cashiers know you by name. Marjorie “Marge” Axtell, a beloved staple of Ken’s Westville IGA, is that cashier.
Having worked in the grocery store for more than half her life, the 80-year-old Axtell has witnessed three generations grow up, start families, move away, and come home, she says — and she has no plans of stopping anytime soon.
After graduating from Westville High School in 1962, Axtell says, she married and moved up to Chicago for four years before moving back home and starting a family.
“It was my fun job!” she says about the start of her unexpected career at the grocery store.
Her day job, as a receptionist at Interstate Printers & Publishers in Danville, took up most of her time, she says, and the rest was taken up by raising her children. She decided to take the cashier job at Ken’s IGA in the Autumn 1979 as a side job — something to do on the weekends to bring in a little extra money, she says. Plus, it was the chance to get a break from the hustle and bustle of her day job.
“I handled stuff with the president of the company. I took care of his banking. I would do deposits for him and then I’d have to go around and pick up the payroll and run that over to them at the other warehouse. And then I’d leave that and have have to be back at a certain time,” Axtell says.
By contrast, IGA was a breeze, she says, describing the atmosphere at IGA as “laid-back, easy-going.”
Back when she first started as a cashier, the checkout process was very different than it is today, mostly thanks to the changes in hardware.
“When I first started out, it was the old punch registers,” Axtell says. “And then we had food stamps, the paper ones.”
Prices, too, have changed drastically over the years.
“Take a quart jar of Miracle Whip, for example. You could get that probably for like a dollar and a half, maybe $1.99. Now, it is up to five or six dollars,” she says. “Cigarettes, too. About three years ago, we did away with them. They weren’t selling so the owner just decided it was time to get rid of them.”
One thing that hasn’t changed over the years, Axtell says, is how much she enjoys seeing the faces of children in the store — especially when it’s children of those she watched grow up.
“It’s the little kids, the babies. It just makes you feel good when you’ve got little kids around,” says Axtell, who has a great-granddaughter in Texas that she doesn’t get to see often, so she looks forward to her interactions with small kids at the store. “It’s fun, you know? It makes you feel good to be able to talk to them and then they come back.”
One of the lessons she’s learned working at the IGA is something she calls “the care of people.”
“When I get the paper and there’s something in there where they made the honor roll or Honors Society or whatever, or I seen that they had a birthday, when that kid comes through the line, I let them know I read about them in the paper,” Axtell says. “It makes them feel good, too. Like ‘Oh, somebody really cares about me.’ Well, yes, I do.”
After more than 45 years of working at the grocery store — 16 of which has been full-time — Axtell says she has no plan to retire anytime soon.
“I see it all the time. As soon as someone retires, it’s not too much later that I hear they passed away,” she says. “My kids are out of state. What’s there for me to do?”
One thing she loves doing when she’s not working is learning to play piano, a hobby she took up about four years ago.
“I was in band from sixth grade up through high school. When my mother passed in 1981, I bought me an organ and I was bound and determined that I was going to learn how to play that,” Axtell says. “And then one night about four and a half years ago, I saw an ad on Facebook for piano lessons and I knew my grandson was learning, so I thought, ‘Why not? It’s one night a week.’”
One of Axtell’s favorite things about the job is the chance to re-connect with old classmates from Westville High School, she says.
“I still got my classmates that come in shopping and I see them outside. We have a a monthly luncheon together,” Axtell says.
Axtell is a beloved by customers and co-workers alike. One co-worker even made a social media post this past week honoring Axtell and celebrating her 80 birthday, which happened on Sept. 15.
“I wanted to take a few minutes to wish a happy 80th Birthday to Marge Axtell. Marge has been a mainstay at the Westville IGA for 45 years. Happy birthday Marge from all your family and many friends of Westville and beyond. You are one of Westville’s Finest!” Gary DelHaye wrote in a post in the Facebook group “If you grew up in Westville, Illinois and remember … .”
The attention Axtell has received from the post has been surprising, she says.
“I have tried to answer everyone and thank every one of those people that have commented on Facebook,” Axtell says. “Last time I looked it was 509 entries.”
Other co-workers of Axtell’s say she’s a pleasure to work with.
“She’s always pleasant and easy to work with and talk to. She’s a listener. She’s understanding. I’m glad she’s here!” says Suzi Shaw, who has worked with Axtell for about a year.