Norwich bulletin., 1919-12-05

ing. Exactly in the middle was the, double e-doorway, oAe-half generally closed, but the other half. always standing invitingly open on warm
 days. No such thing as a "show-win- dow'' was dreamed of in those times,
 nor was any attempt ever made, so
 far as I can remember, to dress" the
 two small front windows with any en-
 tieing display of goods. But every
 morning during the outdoor season
 the storekeper and his clerk brought
 out a few hoes and pitch forks and
 shovels and things of that sort and
 stood them up on the piazza against
 the front wall
 Inside, the walls were lined with
 shelves and, in front of each line of
 shelves, ran a counter This
 counter" was ordinarily a somewhat
 ornate construction. but I can remem-
 Der cases where it consisted simply
 of a wide plank laid on rough "hors-
 es" of two-by -four stuff. At one end
 always rested the stores show case 7
 g1assed at top, ends and front, with
 mirrors set in the back doors to make it's contents seem about twice as gor- geous as they were in fact. This case always contained some pocket-kniv occasionally a few razors, and an as- sortment of feminine gew-gaws whose
 character and use is not clear to my
 male memory.
 The knives l can still see, especial | ly the one utterly impossible wonder witlrs four-count 'emi-foir real | blades and a hook shutting over the 1 whole to clean out your horses hoofs when need arose. Quite as clear in
 memory shines the array of glass jars standing on the shelves behind and l filled with two kinds of candy; that l in sticks about four inches long and gorgeous in red and white spiral stripes, and that in hard round balls, also vivid in red and white and uni versally called Jackson balls"
 Generally the shelves on one wall piled with cloths of various sorts |scalicoes, ginghams, cambrics, tickings. muslin, etc. At the farther end the fabrics ran to cassimeres and jeans
 and broadclohts and farmers satin"
 and denims for overalls. In every family the women made their own
 dresses and practically all the men folks working clothes from materials bought by the yard at this or some similar store. There wasn't ready
 made" garment in the shop.
 The opposite shelves usually showed canisters of tea and coffee and spices, boxes of starch and soap. bottles of few standard drugs, Jumps Of bees
 wax, packages of tallow for making candles, and, when times were flush, perhaps a few jars of imported ginger | brought all the way from the East | Indies.
 | Ffs.ming tools of all sorts filtered the rear end. behind the big stove. ] Sometimes the salt codfish, always whole, and the boxes of smoked her.
 ring were mixed up with the hoes and
 shovels, sometimes with the tea and | cofffa. On the end of the counter | nearest them stood a cheese and reg i ular habitues were able to. tell, the minute they looked at it, whether it had been made by "Aunt Wealthy" or | the Sarah and Susan twins or them | Cape Codders over on the Judkins place." Such thing as cheese fac | tory was not then dreamed of. Near ! by also stood basket of eggs and a | tub of butter which some farmer's
 wife had traded off for enough ging- ham to make a house dress.
 ! Under one counter were boxes con | taining three kinds of sugar, one black and "crawly," one brown and
 cleaner-looking, one almost white