Joan Olson remembers a time when the heart of Batavia bustled with locals perusing neighborhood grocery stores, shoe shops and boutiques.

“I could walk downtown and buy just about everything I needed,” she said wistfully.

Olson was one of several residents who attended the “Commerce in Batavia” roundtable discussion Monday Aug. 25 at the Batavia Public Library. Co-sponsored by the Historical Society, Chamber of Commerce and Depot Museum, the discussion was presented in conjunction with Batavia’s celebration of the 175th anniversary of the city being settled in 1833.

Residents discussed the role of retail businesses, service industries and later manufacturers that supported and nourished life in Batavia as its population grew.

Kathy Barkei, whose father owned a shoe store in Batavia’s downtown, remembers Boo Days, where all the merchants had a big sidewalk sale to peddle their discounted wares.

“And you could get a heck of a bargain,” she said.

Eleanor Oleson said that as a young girl her mother would often send her downtown with a list of items to purchase.

“I never had any money to buy [things] with,” she said. “On Saturdays, my mother would go and pay the bill.”

She remembers when the larger chain stores such as A&P and Kroger’s came to the area, which put a strain on the smaller mom-and-pop stores.

“The independent people really had trouble then,” she said.

Longtime Batavian Bob Popeck said store clerks used to know who all the patrons were.

“Now you go into a store and spend hours and know nobody,” he said.

Bob Barnes said in his youth he was known as a “grocery boy.”

“People would call in and leave their order and I would go and deliver it,” he said. “Sometimes there was no one there, so I’d go in through the back door and leave (the groceries) on the counter.”

Joan Olson said she once got a loan on a handshake.

“There was no fuss or bother,” she said.

Barkei said there is a notable difference between life in Batavia now and when she was growing up.

“People were just friendlier then,” she said.