Specter

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     The once familiar one-stop country General Merchandise ceased operations three or more decades ago.  That means kerosene, livestock feed, work sox, hardware, dry beans by the scoop, groceries, popsicles and bubble gum, bolt cloth, fresh gossip, mail and credit must be found elsewhere.
     Yet the old store buildings continue to survive long after the cash drawers closed for the last time.  After all, grand parents and families built these stores and kept them open for long hours each day providing fundamental necessities valued by all.  As these silent icons slowly weather and strain under the weight of honeysuckle and tree limbs there seems to be a shared nostalgia, an unspoken reluctance to interfere in any way that might hasten the final dismantling of these precious artifacts. 

    

© d090527-037  White Store
  Carroll County, Virginia
  Wednesday 7 June 2009

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Comments

[harold]

Well said, Doc, and I love the starkness of the store and the big grey sky. There is an old country store, smaller than this and unpainted, that I pass every time I drive down to Jasper County to visit my 92 year old dad. Your second paragraph describes what happened to the unpainted store. I could see it slowly falling down in my first 20 plus years of driving past it. Then 10 plus years ago, the current property owners, who have a newer house nearby, repaired it so it is again straight and sturdy and weatherproof, even though it has not been used in over 30 years. I think the "shared nostalgia and unspoken reluctance to hasten the final dismantling" of that precious artifact, must have taken hold of the offspring of those store-minding grandparents. Good for them, and all of us who drive by and admire it.

slim