The Country

Grocery

How many of you remember when every community had a small country grocery store? Most of you remember, and several would be sad to report they have now closed down. I am happy to say that in my community near Foothills Academy and the Highway Community that we are still fortunate to have a small country store “Bonnie’s” as my girls call it, some of you may know it better as Brown’s Highway Gas Station, and even before that Waymon Avery ran it and I knew it as Waymon’s.

You can get about everything you need here: from a gallon of milk, or a loaf of bread to gas or even 25 pounds of dog food. Just this week my daughter was going on a field trip and we stopped in to get a sandwich made and pick up some chips, and a drink. The people in these stores know you and your families by name; they take pride in their service, you see, Bonnie didn’t just make a sandwich, she wrapped it and even put it inside a storage bag so it would stay fresh. Just the way she would do for one of her own.

At her store she even had a big yellow cat, that my girls named Mango. Sad to say but one Sunday morning on the way to church we saw Mango dead on the road, he had been ran over and this made us all sad. We had made a personal bond with Mango, the store cat. The kids would always stop to pet him while we were at the store.

I remember at the end of Hogback Road Johnnie Shelton had a furniture store.

We would walk out there, not for the furniture. He also had a Coke machine and we would walk out to get a Coke. It was the machine that had the glass bottles that when you put your money in then it released your drink, and you had to pop the lid off with the opener on the front of the machine.

I remember those glass bottles and how good a Coca-Cola tasted from it, not the plastic we have today.

I also remember Cross’ little country store in the Shipley Community. When you went in there behind the counter were pictures of kids from all over the community. These people knew the community and cared enough to display their pictures of them. Even out in Piney Woods I have stopped at Shelton Brothers Store to pick up a snack, these are just a few in my memory and not to leave one out but they were all just as important.

Through my many years working in home health, I have depended on these country stores for a bathroom break, gas, and even a thick cut bologna sandwich. If you need directions you can always get them here at these country stores as well. I have even stopped here on Halloween and my kids have trick-or-treated there.

Now as time moves on we see more and more of these little country stores closing down, and more chain Dollar General Stores popping up in rural communities. You can’t get a sandwich made at the Dollar General or a quart of ice cream with two spoons if you decide to eat it before you get home. We are getting away from personal contact and personal relationships with people. In larger chain stores we rush in and rush out. You can’t find out about the weather or your neighbor that has been sick.

I would like to salute all the little country stores in our community and across the world. Thank you for the opportunity to pick up the forgotten loaf of bread or gallon of milk, the gas to keep me from being stranded on the side of the road, and the moose tracks that I had a craving for!

Tammy Waid McClellan

Got a story to tell – try our new feature

Let the

readers

write

The Clinton County News is seeking short, personal stories from you, our readers, for our new feature area, “Let the readers write”.

Tell us about an experience that resulted in a life-long memory, something that happened during your childhood or even yesterday. No hidden agendas. No politics. No religion. Don’t try to sneak in coverage for your 3rd grader’s basketball team. No poems.

In your own words, hopefully between 300 and 600 words, submit your article, along with a photo of yourself, via email to: gpcompany@kih.net, or bring a typewritten copy in to our office at 116 N. Washington Street in Albany. If you don’t have a recent photo of yourself, we’ll make it for you.

You can also mail your submission to P.O. Box 360, Albany, KY 42602. Include an address and phone number that we can use for verification purposes only.