Kids visit, eat, learn at downtown business
When Butler Catholic School's two second-grade classes recently began a social studies lesson on family-owned businesses, student Sofia Matonak had a brainstorm.
Sofia approached her teacher, Jennifer Friel, to ask if a field trip to her grandmother's Main Street business would be helpful in learning what it takes to run a family business.
The Matonaks bought the meat market from the Miller family 50 years ago.
When Friel told Sofia she loved the idea, Sofia asked her grandmother, Miller's Meats owner Debby Matonak, if the students could come tour the operation.
“She said 'yes,'” Sofia recalled.
So Friel and Sofia set to work organizing the field trip, which occurred Monday morning before the store opened at 11 a.m.
The staff even went to the trouble of creating 36 little orange aprons along with a yellow “hard hat” for every child.
The students toured not only the meat market and delicatessen, where they selected meat and cheese for the wrap sandwich the business provided for each student, but they traversed the large meat-cutting, grinding, packing and shipping departments as an employee shared what goes on in each department.
In addition to time spent in two huge walk-in coolers, the students ran in and out of the walk-in freezer, which is set at 14 degrees below zero.
An employee explained that because some restaurants that serve Miller's meat are far away, they receive a large shipment of frozen burgers, steaks and other products every week or month.
“I would be freezing,” student Xavier Grenci said of the chilly working conditions for packers and shippers in the store's coolers.
Xavier, who rubbed his arms to shake off the cold of the freezer, said he learned a lot about family businesses.
“It's nice that they let us come,” he said.
The students received a small bag of bite-sized beef sticks and cheese when they left the warehouse tour.
“They loved the meat and cheese,” Friel said. “They were licking the bags.”
In the deli, an employee carefully showed the students how meat and cheese are sliced.
The students appeared impressed with the slicer's speed and precision in cranking out slice after slice of cheese, which the employee passed out to the students.
“Are we using our manners?” said a teacher on the field trip. “I think I heard some thank yous.”
The students were then ushered into an empty storefront beside Miller's Meats to enjoy their wraps, plus chips and pretzels, drinks and candy.
Kevin Fizer munched on his bologna wrap after his educational tour.“It was great because you got to try some of the goods there,” Kevin said. “My favorite was the beef sticks.”He thinks people would be surprised to know how many people it takes to run a family business.Parent Anthony Grenci agreed.“I was really surprised at how large they are and the variety of things they make here,” Grenci said.He said the students learned how businesses serve people as well as the different types of jobs at the store and warehouse.“Eventually they will be in the work force, and it helps them understand how everything works,” Grenci said.Debby Matonak was thrilled that her granddaughter offered up the longtime Butler business for a field trip.She hopes the students learned the importance of hard work and teamwork, and how math skills are required to weigh and pack the meat and cheese.“They had great questions,” Matonak said.Sofia Matonak said she is glad her classmates enjoyed their field trip, and hopes they learned how much hard work is involved in running a family business.She hopes to run the warehouse section of the business when she grows up, where she can indulge in her favorite product, pepperoni.“I hope my friends learned that (meat and cheese) doesn't just come from a store,” Sofia said. “It comes from here.”
