The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1899-07-21
DEPARTMENT STON-.
THE COUNTRY STORE WAS THt
ORIGINAL.

sailors Bought Everything.
Kate Kip's description Of a depart
ment store is not much overdrawn, ana
it is amusing to every one who Is IA
miliar with these modern Pandora
boxes, in which 1t is alleged one may
,purchase everything from a paper OF
pins to a pulpit. This institution had
a close parallel in the country gen
eral" store in which / spent my boy
hood days. Many men of my day
and generation will recognize the de-
scription as true to life. My fathers
department" store was also the gen.
eral post Office and the town telegraph
tation. The other departments were
many and small. and could not be
strictly classified and separated. For
instance, paint and hardware were
handled over one little counter back
in a dark corner of the store. Sugar,
crackers, spices, tobacco, periodicals,
kilograms and the mornings mail. con-
fectionery, bread, shot and gunpowder,
soap and washing soda, occupied the
east Of the store. Dry goods. boots
and shoes. nails. screws, paints and
oils, crockery, kerosene, rope and
twine, clam-rake handles and woouen-
ware occupied the west side. These
were the principal divisions. On our
grocery counter was glass showcase
for cigars, and on the dry goods coun-
ter a case for notions. In a convenient
place on a third counter was an Old
fashioned cheese case, which furnished
many free samples of cream cheese TO
the lounging clammers, fishermen and
farmers, who regarded the store some
thing in the light Of Bishop Potter
club room. At the rear of the room
was a drug department inclosed In
glass doors, where we supplied all
proprietary and patent medicines and
drugs. This contained a complete
stock of soothing syrup, cordials and
porous plaeters, and in fact everything
but prescription counter. Once some
advertising matter for a certain Ger
man syrup" cough medicine fell into
the hands of a neighboring German
cubbler. He thought he would like 10
try some German syrup on his buck
wheat cakes, so came in with a pail
and asked for "halluf gallon" and
was much Disappointed at finding 1t to
be cough medicine. The space in the
middle of the store was pretty we'll
filed with barrels of apples and pota-
toes, smoked meats. hoes. shovels and
unpacked boxes of soap and dry goods.
The scope of the store was the more
remarkable because we supplied many
calling vessels as we'll as the resident
fishermen and farmers with groceries
and other commodities. A back room
contained a large stock Of flour and
feed, and the cellar was used for stor-
ing and retailing lard, butter, mo-
lasses, vinegar and salt pork and fish.
A fair specimen order for ships stores
might begin with sugar, salt, tobacco
and spices, and wind up with coil OF
rope or marline and a gallon of cider,
with few articles of ready-made
clothing and tarpaulins or rubber
goods included.
The farmers bought everything, In
Guiding grain and feed, for in that part
OF the oountry,-which was on an arm
OF the Atlantic ocean along the New
Jersey coast,-they raised very little
grain, most of them raising truck and
produce for the New York market.
They came from a radius Of perhaps
ten miles to ship their vegetables and
truit to market on little steamboat
which was described on her time
| cards as being large and commodious.
She sailed once a day at high water.
The trucks and fruit wagons would eX-
tend in several directions, sometimes
for halt a mile from the wharf. ans
from many of these we had orders TO
be put up, which were called for after
the farm produce had been placed
aboard the steamer, which had a con-
siderable carrying capacity for her
size.
The departments of our store were
not all confined to the store building.
We always had for sale good Jersey
pine cord-wood, baled hay, coal by
the carload, and usually one or TWO
breeds of choice pigs. The store was
always brightly lighted at night, and
some remarkable men were among our
so-called loungers. One man, Scotch
man, was much admired for his ready
wit and his propensity for practical
joking. He would sit and hold a man
i'm conversation and at the same time
Sy tying a dinner pail to the rear end
Of the mans dog, then protest his In
nocence of having touched the canine.
This was only one specimen Of the
horseplay we might expect for an even
ing's entertainment. A little after
lamp-light one of the star boarders,
usually a thrifty Norwegian clam dig
ger of intelligence, would begin and
read laboriously all the news Of inter-
est in the New York papers. Afte"
this was over and the news had been
discussed, We might be entertained by
one of the clammers telling Of his last
trip to the "city" to sell clans, of his
narrow escape from William BuncO, or