Ye Olde General Store

Love these stores!!! Great finds too!!! =)

Wow wouldn't it be awesome to browse all these handmade goodies in person. Great article! I would love to see general stores make a come back esp over our strip mall society.

great post alison! these stores are on the way back for sure! imagine them all with wares produed by the community, everything hand delivered/picked up... dreamy... and on the cards! ;)

General Stores, local non chain hardware stores, and privately owned pharmacies -sorely missed-bring the screen door stores back! Love, love , love all of these items!

I live in what seems to be a strip-mall jungle these days and really miss our old general store from back home. It was the only store for 20 miles, they'd always give you extra red vines, and they gave me my first job. We need more of these community-driven stores!

Lovely!

Gorgeous selections!

Great story and amazing finds ! Thanks for sharing :)

Love the Vintage Grainsack Pillows ;)

Great post! Love looking at the pictures of all these handmade items!

Great finds!

My husband's family run 5 & 10 will be celebrating 100 years in 2012 and for them (and myself) it is a source of great pride. So local, family run business is something near and dear to my heart- enjoyed this post!

Great stores! Thanks for the post.

I can understand the nostalgia and wistfulness for this type of place, especially given the raw ugliness of the typical modern strip mall. But it might be beneficial, too, to remember the drawbacks of an era where this was a primary shopping destination: very little produce (I would die! I would just die, lol), the most meagre and basic selection of canned goods, and a system of weighed dry goods that was frequently dishonest--and a supply chain that was ambiguous at best and outright scary at worst! That said, I do read with a lot of wishfulness the scenes in the Little House books where Laura runs her fingers over bolts of cloth and scoops crackers from a barrel. For all the drawbacks, something about that experience must have been very satisfying--modern shopping feels more like a daily exhaustion than a gratifying Event. :)

Beautiful items!

I dream of walking into a place like that!!! Great article and finds...thanks!!

The general store is still recreated in many towns in New England! This article is very nostalgic!

love that braided run! Wish i knew how to handcraft one. I foresee a new project.

What wonderful items--I love the nostalgic feel of this. Thanks for including my copper pot!

We have a abandoned building in my town that everytime I drive past, I want to see it become this kind of a General Store. Someday.....

Great collection! Simple & sweet

My first job, as a teen, was working in a Woolworth. We weighed the candy and warm peanuts, sold birds and gerbils, cut oil cloth and window shades, and engraved your name on a gold chain bracelet so you could ask a girl to go steady. It had a long lunch counter and a few booths where you could get a hot turkey sandwich or a chocolate soda. Record albums, dress patterns, girdles, hammers and new sheets. Hat pins, stationery, plastic flowers, toys, perfume and we made keys. It was a general store in a big city.

I love anything old - seems to calm me when the stress of the modern world closes in

Wonderfully nostalgic... and hopefully making a comeback. My favorite general store of all time, which still exists today, is Polebridge Mercantile in Polebridge, Montana. Off the grid and way off the beaten path. Best homemade cookies EVER there.

My husband's grandfather went every Saturday to the general store (which still stands) about a half-mile from our farm. It had a post office inside and a ladder on a track that ran from one side of the store to the next . We were told that you could purchase most anything and if it could not be found there then a steamboat would bring it from Baltimore, the nearest large city of that day.

There is still a great 5 and 10 in West Concord ,MA. Childhood dreams of penny candy!

Really beautiful selection. I long for the days of the past when things were far less complicated. You went to the store for soap, not any special variety, just soap.

Thank you for pressing the Nostalgia button.

Great picks love all the soaps here, can never get enough bath products!

Great finds! Thanks for the post!

What fantastic finds! Thanks for this great article!

I am searching for a place just like this to move nearby as I would love to return to the nostalgia of yesterday. Such a great .... and true.... story, thank you.

All those items would make a lovely store. Thanks for posting this.

Great vintage memories. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome post! Hear's a toast to the times of yesteryear! Glad to see so many others love cool old things. :)

Great article!

What a great article! I miss the simplicity, charm & familiarity of these wonderful stores...hoping these make a comeback!

Ahhh love the general store! Would love to see a revival of this in my own home town :) Great article and facsinating finds!

Gorgeous article and gorgeous pickin'! General stores are not just a reminder of the past but of what can coexist with modernity, if only we support our neighbors' efforts. I remember our old general store owner, Mr. Ed, and his fridge full of bottled soda and his own farm's eggs. I don't want my children to grow up without that financial and personal model as a viable choice.

Just one example of why I REALLY wish there was a time machine!

In my town, there used to be several small general stores, but like everything else modernity consumed them, but we still have one! Ran by the 5th generation family, it's everything it used to be, the green ticket book still hangs on the same nail it has since the store was built, and yes, you can still charge your groceries by the month. I wouldn't think of shoppin' anywhere else. Great pickin'

Love this! I want to go back in time!

LOVE it!! Living in Northern Maine we have a little store just like it. There are several stores spread around that are just like this! Living here does bring you back to little house in the big woods it's nice living on just the basics with a touch of technology.

A great collection of antique items. I was just in a recreated general store in a historical village. The real thing must be so much neater though!

The technicolor soaps have nothing on good old fashioned goat's milk soap!

There should be more general stores these days! Amazing and unique items to be found!!!

This is so nostalgic and wonderful!! It makes me wish I had a Time Machine!

Great article. I've lived near two wonderful, old General Stores in central NC. At the first, we picked up our mail, which was kept in slots in alphabetical order. The other had seating around the potbelly stove in the oldest section, which I helped to demolish, and salvaged the old sill plates, which I used in building my house.

Love the items from this era!

Beautiful items but I LOL'd at the thought of a simple 5 and dime carrying pillows that are $90 each.

Cool items!

I too miss the General Store that never was where I grew up! I think with the Walmartization of America we seem not to be able to go back....but maybe we will in some way revisit that way of shopping with all the recycling, repurposing, and generally great handmade products that have come about largely as a consequence of sites like Etsy giving many people the "storefront" they always wanted. Given the HUGE vintage and nostalgia craze, there has to be people who will be industrious enough to start one up. There's still no better feeling than browsing a good old fashioned "brick and mortar" packed to the rafters with goodies and necessities of all kinds.

Great article, love your choices and.....I'll shop there!

Great article and wonderful photos all around! "Let the beauty of what you love be what you do."--Rumi

Love these great items!!!

Very inspiring! I'd like my whole life to be like this.

Wonderful post, so much beauty in the world of Olde...~Ronda

Wonderful post- I love all the items you have featured!! Classic and simple...

Absolutely beautiful- great post!!

When I moved to TN in the 70's, General Stores were abundant. As the old timers passed on, their stores disappeared. There are a few still standing.. Moving here from NJ, it was a treat for me to see these stores in person after only seeing them on TV. I am so glad that I got to spend time in those stores with their owners, eating bologna sandwiches and fried pies, listening to their stories.....

I loved going to an old general store in Indiana recently...I especially loved that it had a whole aisle devoted to knitting supplies - yarn, needles, crochet hooks, really almost worthy of any of the chain stores now. It didn't have the pricey yarns that you see in Local Yarn Stores, but still it had what you needed, mostly of the worsted weight variety. I'd imagine back in the day you could get fingering weight yarn, which is nearly what every knitter used for garments.

Great collection!

I love the collection. I can not remember the last time I went to a general store.

More than missing those stores (I didn't had them, we had "bodegas" or "quincallas" instead) I miss the basics: a soap that cleans, a fabric that covers your body, a brush for your hair, coffee beans, oil in a bottle. I don't need George Clooney (not in that was of him selling me coffee >:-P) I don't need sparkly soap, nor a brush that massages my scalp. I just need the core of the objects.

Such cool picks!

I would just love to do my shopping at a general store! I love a community feel, and believe that's one of the major things we are missing as a society. Bring back small town living!

Your general store sounds wonderful! I was wondering why my triangle dinner bell was getting so many hits and faves today. Mine was not the one featured, but it certainly had people searching for them!

Lovely picks! How I miss the old neighborhood corner store, and penny candy!

When I was a child and lived on a farm in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, we had a very small little store close by. I remember taking some cherished change, jumping into the back of the pickup, and one of the "older" kids who could drive taking a bunch of us there to buy candy. Classic memory

Parachute425: Your Woolworth story made me get all kind of sappy. I grew up going into Woolworth's and gorging on penny candy and having lunch at the counter with my grouchy Grandma. Thanks for sharing!

Parachute425: I, too, used to go to Woolworth. My best friend worked behind the counter. We used to go there so much they hired her !! I was working next door. I remember scouring the make up counter and buying Mary Quant eye shadow rounds. 8 colors. I also remember watching the miniature turtles in a glass terrain. Ever since, I have a weird fondness for turtles of all sizes and I once started collecting wooden and glass turtles. Crazy. What do kids remember today? A trip to Walmart? I hope I've taken my kids to better places so that they, too, can have similar memories as I did as a child.

I remember the Woolworth store :D I also remember the store called Centers.These were 5 & 10 stores.I loved them.You could pop a balloon at the lunch counter to see how much your Banana split would cost.I was always lucky and paid very little for mine.I remember when 45 records were $1.25.Oh how i sometimes miss the good ole days!!

Oh this article is so nostalgic. Thank you!! I really miss those old days and those shops from my childhood.

Let me know when you open your brick and mortar store. I'll shop there!!! I look forward to it.

Oh! Thanks for the memories!!

I remember the candy shop/sundries shop my town. we had 2, a 5 and dime and smiths. You could be a happy kid for 1 cent to 1.00.

Great idea and why we all love Etsy! I remember the creaky wooden floors and smells of Fegley's General Store in Maxatawny PA.

OMG.....I worked at Woolworth's at the candy counter as well. I could not figure out the weight by oz......so I filled the bags full.....the customers loved me! Old time weight scale! Smiles, Debra

my great grandfather ran small feed and grain store with several side items as well. I was often told stories when I was young about the store and the community it served. Unfortunately none of the sons wished to follow in their fathers footsteps and run the store and it is gone now except for a mention in the towns' museum and a few remaining snapshots. But if your ever on the southwest side of Chicago in Wheaton ask one of the older residents about Patch Bros.

my dad owned a little neighborhood grocery from 1984 until 2007 and had all kinds of penny candies and knew everyone in the neighborhood. what a shame that these are disappearing. his place was a real gathering place and the whole neighborhood suffered and grieved when my dad passed away. large corporate stores may be a bit cheaper but they have no soul!

To Parachute425 I used to go in a Woolworths in NYC on 34th St. that was there in 1992 when I moved to New York. I was so sad to see it was gone after leaving and returning. I used to eat lunch at the counter, home cooked food like mashed potatoes. It was like stepping back in time.

i remember the general store in Little House on the Prairie....and I always remember wanting to visit that general store........

There's an Amish General Store near here. I get all my bulk flours and grains there. It's especially nice to stock up for holiday baking. I remember the Woolworths in my hometown in PA.

Our small village in North Sutton, NH is home to a general store that has been in business since the late 1700's. It recently changed hands and is currently under major renovations. The grapevine tells us that it's being restored to how the new owner rembers it as a boy in the late 40s, complete with vintage soda fountain and candy counter... I'm just hoping they serve a good malted...

Considered buying an old general store building to restore somewhat to its former use, live in and have studio space too. Dating to the early 1840s, it's been neglected too long and restoration would be far too expensive. Sure do love the old wooden floored stores of yore! They just feel like home.

Oh I loved Woolworth's. They had EVERYTHING. That's where I bought my first record, spilled a giant chocolate coke on the counter, bought toy ' makeup sets' with my sister, looked at the parakeets, and purchased embroidery floss.

I also remember my brother popping balloons to see how much his banana split cost. He popped 4 balloons!!! He was so sick after 4 banana splits.

Woolworth and the chirping birds and that long lunch counter and the few booths where you could get a hot dog and soda. I discovered Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts Group there, those were the days.

Great article! I love the idea of a friendly low-pressure store, one that doesn't make you feel as if you've been psycho-analyzed and marketed to at every corner. One of our local box-stores just got remodeled and it now feels like a constant exercise in saying 'no' to things they'd really like to lure you into buying. It's mentally exhausting! The thought of how much this chain probably paid somebody to figure out the most profitable (vs. the most convenient to the customer) arrangement of goods makes me sad….

I would SO shop at your store, Alison!

This makes me appreciate anew the general store near our camp in the woods of Northeast PA. Truman's Store in tiny Sigel, PA (no red light, just a blinker) has everything the camper/hunter/fisherman might need for the weekend, and everything to keep the locals going between trips to the chain stores in Brookville or Clarion. As a kid, I loved to stop in and see the store mascot, a stuffed bear that sports a new outfit for each holiday/season. As an adult, I enjoy catching up with whichever member(s) of the extended Truman family are manning the cash register and deli counter. Man, I wish I were there right now!!

I recently moved to the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. We have a general store about 3 miles away. It looks like a simple gas station but it also has hunting supplies, groceries, subway sandwiches, household stuff and gas. Our power was out for 4 days last summer and the owner loaned us a generator. If you're near Barton, NY, look for TJ's.

This reminds me of a store we had called Marlow's. . Not quite the general store but it was the place to go when you couldn't find it anywhere else. Thanks for sharing!

best choices and such a warm and wonderful atmosphere you created Alison~I always look forward to your articles! thanks!

Great article! Really enjoyable reading and wonderful pics. Sweet nostlagia!

there used to be once called lester's in my home town. the woman behind the counter used to wear a flapper style headband. you could buy single screws and the place smelled lovely. it closed in the '90s and now it's a trendy bar, harumph.

Missing Gomer already----let you know when the store is for sale. Here's your chance...............

I agree with you whole heartedly!

Great post! The first pic of the light is just like the one above my head, in my studio, in my house. Wow! I have a date on the light fixture! Thank you! Newberries and Woolworth were also great general store's

I love the old balls of string (twine)! (It does not take much to guess what I do and what I like)! Great article! I think we all still love those stores if we can find them, and to make sure they do not go away, we should always support them and buy something when we go there!

How artistic and inspiring! I love this!

Love this collection! There's a living history museum here called Old World Wisconsin, and the general store is so tidy and simple and clean and wonderful! It's my favorite place there :)

I'm with you Alison! In Yountville, where I grew up, the general store was Tonascia's Market. I actually bought my first pair of Levis 501 shrink to fit jeans, my first Cover Girl makeup, my first Maybelline mascara, all my candy and comic books, there.....And the general store theme of Honest, real clothes and home items is actually the philosophy behind my decades-long vintage business....My handmade shop, thatyountvillegirl, has the same rustic country honest heritage thing going on.......with a bit of glitter and shine here and there ;-)

Great selection for a general store. I miss having the slower days and being lazy around the lake. Laying in the grass or catching fireflies. Not many neat places to check out any more and getting the soda pop or lime rickys at the ice cream counter and eyeing all the penney candy.

Beautiful selection!

There's still a general store in my city- I live in Austin Texas but it's a shame because the General Store has become sort of the 'chic' thing and everything in the store cost you an arm and a leg. The visual aesthetics of the store are gorgeous, but not worth the price you pay to step in.

I think we should go back to shopping at small local stores that are Independent .The owner's were interacting with the customers and they knew whats your needs were.i only wish i has a local store where the owners new me by my first name..

Aw, hello fellow Iowan! I have such romantic feelings about your hypothetical shop. In a way, I think this is kind of what Etsy is about. A personal connection with the human who is making and selling you goods. This is what attracted me to Etsy in the first place. Wonderful post.

<3 it!

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