Stores were small and friendly

Bill Ward

While surfing the Internet I came across an old cartoon site. Boy, did it bring back memories! All the oldie but goodie cartoons that are no more. Pogo is one I really liked but is now retired. One of the cartoons had a cracker barrel and General Store in it and that brought back fond memories. My father’s parents lived in Guilford, Indiana (Dearborn County). Dad would take the family and visit several times a year. On the way we always stopped in New Alsace at Hornbeck’s. Hornbeck’s was a true old-fashioned General Store. Of course they had the proverbial cracker barrel.

Dad always stopped to get some hard candy for Grandpa. And Hornbeck’s had numerous glass jars along the top of the counter all filled to the brim with candy of all sorts. They did not carry candy packaged and priced like Snickers or Milky Way. They carried only bulk candies and only the kind that would sell. Grandpa was in his 90s and his teeth were less than great so hard candy he could suck on was his favorite. And besides, he liked to have some around for the grandchildren and great-grandchildren to have when they visited.

At Hornbeck’s you didn’t come in and just browse around like you do in a modern supermarket. First off, it did not carry appliances, prescriptions, electric fans or clothing. They did, however, have lanterns, coal oil, cloth in bolts and ready to buy and sew new clothes for the family. They had nails and screws and some small hardware items all needed for every day life on the farm. You had a list and gave it to the clerk who would go around and pick out the required items. They would package your purchases in plain paper bags or even wrap them in brown Kraft paper and tie them up with string. The meats that they sold were bulk and they cut the sides of beef or hogs up right there and to your specifications. Nothing, and I mean nothing, was prepackaged except for breakfast cereals and other items that were brought in from outside.

In season they sold fresh produce from local farmers and ladies. Their eggs were fresh from the hens of the local families. If you had excess eggs you took them in and they would buy them and resell them to the “city” folks who did not have any chickens. Produce was in bulk and you picked out what you wanted and needed, no more no less. They had soft drinks, some brands and types that I had never heard of. They were all in glass bottles and you returned the bottles for a deposit.

They had small garden tools and even had a push cultivator hanging off the ceiling for your home garden. If they had fish available they were caught fresh and brought in for sale. Really a great place that smelled of candy: musty, sweet and heavenly all at the same time, something one will always remember. It was a microcosm of the whole area. They carried only what the local population would buy or would want. If they did not have what you wanted you checked out their catalogs and they would order it for you. Even if you were a stranger you felt like family when you went into the store and met Mr. Hornbeck. Everyone there was family.

The cracker barrel was the round table of New Alsace. Locals would come in and take a seat around the barrel, help themselves to a cracker, order a soft drink or coffee, and gossip. Much like the round table at Milroy at the store and Cardinal Café, where stories started and were embellished before the end of the day. Generally, this is the local social center for all of the area. Many came in just to listen and learn (if you could call it learning) all about what the local gossip may be. It was considered a community project and something that all the community used and enjoyed. And, of course, if they were in the store they just might find something to buy and take home.

This was a true country store and one that Rushville used to have too. I can remember about seven in the area around the park and Sixth Street on the northwest side of town. I can remember many others that were elsewhere in town. The only “big” grocery store in town was Kroger’s and it was on the corner of Second and Perkins, where there is a parking lot today. Marsh Foodliner came in right after World War II and then Standard Groceries came in later — and died out after a fire. Standard was where the Elks is today.

I certainly miss the old type local stores. I understand why they were done away with but still miss them. I miss the concern of the proprietor toward his customers and their service to their customers. Probably the main thing I miss today is the closeness between the store employees and their customers, something we have none of today. Those stores may have been small, not much variety, but they sure were fun to go to.



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