Remembering Fargo's Pavarotti of pork chops

FARGO — “Bonjour mon frere, what can we do for you today?”

That was the greeting many people would get as they walked through the doors of a very special mom and pop grocery store in North Fargo from 1947 to 1972.

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Masse’s Grocery, 1140 Eighth St. N., was run by French-Canadians Napoleon and Simone Masse — and it was a trip.

Sure, it was like other small stores. You could pick up an item or two — anything from penny candy to cigarettes — but it was so much more to so many.

In a 1965 story written for the Sunday Fargo Forum, William Brouse does a beautiful job explaining the mystique of Monsieur and Madame Masse, starting with the way 72-year-old Napoleon would sing opera right there in the store as shoppers walked the aisles.

“The short (5’1”) spry, Montreal-born grocer with the snapping brown eyes and the deceptively booming voice has been delighting neighborhood customers for years by making the simple purchase of chops, a carton of milk or a loaf of bread an adventure.”

At Masse’s, the ringing of a cash register bell became the musical accompaniment to Napoleon's vocal renditions of "Ava Maria" or "Carmen."

The man was a character.

Brouse describes what happened the first time his 10-year-old daughter, Roxanne, walked into the store and met the larger-than-life Monsieur Masse.

“He promptly delighted her — and formed a lasting friendship — by reciting lines from Cyrano de Bergerac, a classic in which another Roxane played an important role.”

No doubt Napoleon was a walking example of "joie de vivre," a joy of life shared with the up to 100 customers he’d see each day.

Running a store and charming customers, Brouse said, came naturally to Monsieur Masse, who first began working in retail at his father’s dry goods store in Montreal. He eventually went to work for an uncle in Dunseith, N.D. After meeting and marrying fellow French Canadian Simone Larevier, the couple moved to Belcourt, N.D., and ran a store there for 25 years. In 1947, the Masses, including son Berard, bought the store in north Fargo.

Bobi Brouse Bertling is William Brouse’s daughter (and sister to the Roxanne that Masse recited "Cyrano de Bergerac" lines to). She has fond memories of going to Masse’s Grocery as a young child.

“They were both so kind — the neighborhood kids flocked there and were never made to feel as though we were a nuisance,” Brouse Bertling said.

More than that, she seemed to really enjoy them. In a recent post about Masse's Grocery on the "Growing up in Fargo, North Dakota" Facebook page, people commented that Madame Masse would give them candy bars if they delivered groceries or even if they sang a verse or two of "Frere Jacques" for her.

Brouse Bertling remembers something even more special that Simone did when her family was invited to the Masses for dinner.

“They lived upstairs, but their kitchen was at the back of the store, behind his butcher area. I don't remember what we had for dinner, but I remember Mrs. Masse going out into the store and bringing back a pint of ice cream that she opened and sliced to give everyone some with their cake,” Brouse Bertling recalled. “I thought it must be the coolest thing ever to go into the store whenever you wanted and pick out ice cream or whatever you wanted to eat!”

Brouse Bertling said they moved away from their north Fargo neighborhood to Milwaukee in 1967 when she was 10. But they didn't leave empty-handed.

“To my mom's surprise, (Masse) gave her one of his chopping blocks (from the store) and it made the move with us,” Brouse Bertling said. "It was so uneven (from all of the meat chopping) that my mom hired someone to level out the top. She says the carpenter broke three saw blades going through the process.”

When her mother, Stella, needed to downsize, Brouse Bertling inherited the butcher block.

“When we redid our kitchen, the contractors had to figure out a way to keep it in the kitchen. It weighs about 300 pounds so putting it on casters was a must. It sits directly across from my ovens so I slide it out for baking/cooling racks or whenever I need to put something hot right out of the oven on it,” Brouse Bertling said.

The Masses only stayed in business another five years, choosing to close the store in 1972. The couple sold the building to Alan Scholz who ran a bicycle sales and repair shop. Napoleon Masse then took a job with Leeby's on Broadway. He died in 1984. Simone Masse died in 1997.

While stores like Masse's Grocery were a staple of life for kids in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, times changed. In a 1969 newspaper article, Napoleon Masse predicted the end of the era as bigger supermarkets — with their lower prices and larger variety of products — displaced the little neighborhood stores. Still, he seemed to sense that the mom and pop shops, and the moms and pops who ran them, had a bigger purpose than just selling food.

"Soon there will not be very many stores, but always some," he said. "They will never disappear completely. You always need a loaf of bread, a pound of butter... and a friend."

Serves: 8

According to former customers of Masse's Grocery, one of their favorite treats was the pork pie the Masses made in their store. The couple shared their recipe with Sue Drummond's mother. Sue was nice enough to share it with The Forum. The version below has edited for clarity.

Ingredients:
Ingredients for your favorite double-crusted pie recipe
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 small chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon each sage, cloves and allspice
Breadcrumbs to equal 1 slice
1 1/2 pounds of lean ground pork raw

Directions:
Make your favorite pie crust, but add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Line pie pan with bottom crust. Set aside top crust.

Combine and cook the rest of the ingredients in the kettle for 25 minutes.

Put cooked meat mixture in pie pan and top with the second crust, crimping edges and cutting vent holes.

Bake 15 minutes at 450 degrees, then for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees.