Country.Stores.Breckinridge.HISTORY-OtherFrom: KyArchives [Archives@genrecords.org] Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2006 7:49 AM To: Ky-Footsteps Subject: Country.Stores.Breckinridge.HISTORY-Other Country Stores Breckinridge County KyArchives History Other Book Title: A Glimpse Of The Past Many of the old country stores served as heart of the small community. They came in all sizes depending upon the population of the community. Most were long and narrow and all had a front porch and some had a back porch. Saturday was a day for a little rest from the farm work and people would congregate on the porch to talk over the latest news, tell some tall tales. Some might take up a game of checkers or a hoseshoe pitch. Saturday was the day for doing most of the shopping for the week. As you entered the store, there was a counter with shelves on the wall with rows and rows of big glass jars filled with penny candy and one with stick candy and always a jelly bean jar on the counter with a little scoop selling for a nickel. Children would come by the store, their noses pressed against the window. There was peppermint, lemon, chocolate and licorice candy. The sold cloth from a large bolt. They carried cloth for every purpose. On that was sometimes called outing (outing flannel), which we call flannel now. Clothing could also be bought here such as loose shirts, work shorts, for men and boys. Sometimes they would be blue, striped, chiecked or diamond patterned. Most were home made. They also carried khaki pants. Coffee out o fthe store was green in little beans. It came in large barrels and was sold by the pound. The customer took the beans home and parched them and ground them. Flour came in barrels of a hundred pounds and was sold by the barrel. The solf corn for hog feed. People raised wheat and would take it to the mill to be ground. If they had any extra, they could swap the grain for other items they needed. There was no such thing as an aspirin, but they did sell pills. They also sold liniments for anybody that thought they had rheumatism. There was a Rosebud Salve. Your could order it, but you couldn't buy it in the stores. Postcards were a penny. You know they had scenes on them, like mountains and rivers. Salt came in a big one hundred-pound sack. Later, it came in fifty pounds. It was weighed and put in paper sacks. The seed bought from the store came in thick, striped cloth sacks and was sold by the pound. Soap could be bough in the stores. Palmolive was one of the favorites. The first soft drinks around were grape, orange and strawberry made by Nehi. There was other shelves which were piled high with blankets, hats, shoes - Weather Bird Shoes - with a picture of a big bird walking around in the rain with the shoes on. On the floor was a barrel of bacon. You could buy five pounds, one pound or two slices to season beans. A big block of cheese, to slice as needed, with a cracker barrel near by. A characteristic blended aroma pervaded the air in the old stores. Among the more smelly items was coffee bean, the tobacco (twist, plug, pokes and cans), the coal oil (kerosene) for lamps, leather goods, animal pelts and medicinal roots. At Christmas time there was a special scent coming from crates of oranges. There might be a stock of bananas hanging from the ceiling. Several of the country stores was also where the post office was housed. The citizens of the community made frequent trips to the store to pick up the mail. Sometime, the merchants extended credit to customers, from year to year. The grocery bill was paid when the tobacco crop was sold. A lot of the merchants also lost a lot of money on the credit accounts. Besides serving the people in the community, the old general stores catered to travelers passing by on horses or in wagons who wanted a bite to eat. Some of the popular menus of the day were: a can of peaches and a box of crackers, a can of Vienna sausage and a box of crackers, a dime's worth of cheese and a box of crackers or a can of sardines and a box of crackers. While most readers today could not tell the difference between a mule shoe and a horseshoe, many could probably correctly identify horseshoe nails. There were two varieties of nails, one with spiked heads for safety when the horse was walking on ice. Many of the stores did barter business. The farmer would bring in his excess tobacco, potatoes, animal skins, feathers, corn, iron, flax seed, cow, calf, cabbage, lard, eggs, chickens, blankets, whiskey, gold or fruit. The merchant and farmer would then trade merchandise. The storekeepers ordered their merchandise from drummers. Drummers were old time traveling salesmen who sold wholesale goods to the merchants. Neighborhood stores started to decline with the coming of automobiles and super highways. Most of the old stores are now gone, but on the back roads, a few of the old buildings still stand. A few of the old stores have been remodeled and in use today. Following is a list of a few items sold in stores in the early 1900s. The items and their prices were found in an old ledger. Window hinges - 10 cents, crank rollers - 40 cents, hand saw - $1.00, wagon tire - $1.51, turnip seed - 10 cents, butter - 12 cents per pound, stove - $10.00, gingham - 6 cents per yard, shirt - 85 cents, gun - $4.00, spool thread - 10 cents, dope drink (Coca- Cola) - 5 cents, dipper - 18 cents, shoes - $1.50, flour (50 pounds) - $1.00, seed corn (2 gallons) - 20 cents, cook stove - $12.00, sheep - $2.50, potatoes (one bushel) - 50 cents, cabbage plants (2,000) - $2.00, rooster - 15 cents, days work - 40 cents, and gritter - 10 cents. Submitted by: Dana Brown http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00005.html#0001067 This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/kyfiles/