There's treasures for the takin'

Lockard's General Store
Huntersville, PA, Circa 1950s

The store pictured in this photo is the very definition of a mom and pop store. In particular, this was my dad's mom and pop's store.

This one-room store, which stocked mostly staples such as bread, eggs and milk, was attached to the side of the grandparent’s farmhouse at the corner of Dutchtown Road and Route 87. There was a Texaco gas pump to the left of the store’s entrance; I can remember gas as cheap as 39 cents a gallon. A cooler that held milk and soda bottles and a freezer for ice cream was to the right after you entered the heavy door with the an oversized black latch.

Behind the counter was a big old gold behemoth of a cash register with giant keys that you had to press down hard on to open the drawer. And on the counter were giant (to my eyes) containers of mints that you paid for by the ounce or pound. Later on, a bookmobile came each week with 45-50 books that you could borrow and bring back as you please.

You had to walk through a storeroom to get to the store from the kitchen. A bell was attached over the entryway to the storeroom that rang when someone entered the store, and Royal or Orpha (mostly) would walk from wherever they were in the house through the storeroom to wait on the customer. After my grandfather’s arthritis debilitated him, the walk was long and laborious. But the customers (almost all locals) knew about this condition and patiently waited in the store.

Perhaps they knew about it too well.

The honor system of sorts came crashing down one day when a pair came in the store, and while one held the door so my grandfather could not enter the store, the other cleaned out the cash register.

That event sent shockwaves through the idea that this little part of the world was immune from troubles that seemed confined to newspapers and television. And it meant the end of the store. Shortly thereafter, my grandfather had a stroke, went to the hospital and died. My grandmother sold the house and farm and moved into a tiny house about 10 miles away where she lived for another 15 years or so.

My strongest memories of the store are the wooden, creaky floor and the wonders of the candy case. For 25 cents, you could get a whole bag of penny candy: root beer barrels, Mary Janes and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, a veritable treasure trove. I especially loved the creamsicles and fudgesicles from the freezer, as well as the 7-Up and Coke bottles from the cooler with the fascinating built-in bottle opener. When we visited, my dad would often wait on customers, so I would tag along into the store, and if I was lucky I would get a piece of candy. It sure seemed like a penny went a long way back then.

The store remained open for about 50 years, serving farmers and others who didn’t want to drive the five miles to Picture Rocks to the next closest store.

In today's era of chain convenience stores, this almost seems like a relic from an unimaginable world many years ago.

Which I guess it was.