The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-12-18
OLD SHOPKEEPER
DEFIED PROGRESS
Eayside'S Famous Merchant Who
Objected to Modern In
ventiOnS Dies
New York.-"Johnny Hopes dead !!

New York.-"Johnny Hopes dead p
That's what everyone il. Bayside was
| saying. 1t was echoed for manX miles
| around on Long Island as the news
spread. For John Hope, seventy, was
| the last survivor of an older, genter
| but not less busy time along the shores
of Little Neck bay and lis hinterland.
To the day he died John Hope ran the
sort of general store that really in
trigued the eye of the discriminating.
1t is probably the last store of its kind
| in the city of New York.
1t still stands at Bell and Park ave-
| nues in Bayside, but big, Cld-fashioned
| shutters are on the doors and the kero-
| Sene lamps no longer glitter on tinware.
Johns sister, Miss Annie, and his
younger brother, William, held the
funeral in the lamp-lit rooms above
the store. They will not continue the
business. Their brother made a very
considerable fortune and they will not
go on with the tradition
And Johnny Hopes was a distinct
tradition. When the old store is. closed
it is expected that branch bahk or a
moving picture theater will occupy its
valuable site. That will be the definite
sign that Bayside is no longer a coun-
try village, but a suburb of New York.
Had Real General Store.
Johnny Hope was born in Great
Neck, of English and Irish stock, 70
years ago, and 40 years ago he had
got far enough along to set up in bust
ness for himself. He bought the build
ing at Bell and Park avenues, which
even then was a real estate office, and
proceeded to build around 1t country
store that sold literally everything.
Groceries, dry goods, hay, feed and
grain" were all that were mentioned
on the sign. But the windows showed |
the mOdesty of such q declara ton.
There are just two concessions to !
modernity in those windows. One is a |
thermos bottle and the other a cocktail |
shaker. The latter, his nephew, Gene |
Hope, declares, must have been foisted |
on Johnny by some slick drummer. For
Johnny himself never either smoked or
drank. Aside from those two conces-
sions, however, there are nothing but
reminders of bOyhOOd on the farm.
There are halters of rope and leather,
collar pads, lanterns, cut glass parlOr
lamps. old willow china, vinegar cruets, |
water pitchers of glass and of pewter,
1utmeg graters and kerosene canS-the
kind the grocer used to plug the nose
Of with potato.
Inside the weller is even more con-
'using to the unframed eye. Bottles
IF ketchup stand on an old-fashioned
glass case of ribbons Lanterns in
,aper bags and hams in sacking hang
rom the ceiling. Bolts of cloth are
anged on shallow shelves above the
.offee and -four bins. The candy case !
With all-day suckers, sticks, jaw break !
RS, lfcOrice strings and all the old {
avorites is just beside Johnny's desk,
ending belief to the tradition that he
7as not above blandishing child with
gift, thence for a well delivered mes
age or order.
No Use for Cash Register. f
The desk itself is the same one with q
hitch Johnny started business-one of c
he high ones with a stool behind it t
nd a big thick ledger on top. He Il
corned a cash register And he did W
strictly cash business. 1t was thus 8
nat he said he was always able to r.
Ompete with the chain stores and the n
Their modern inventions that line the
lain street on either side Of him. He p
ad neither telephone nor electric light. ts
md so do lots of people, and I'll have fl
D telephone because the way I want OF
do business is for cash right across
lis counter" 81
He was an intelligent Tory in other p
avs, too. He fought hard against the
idening and paving Of Bell avenue. Y
"And / was right he said not long
20. "There's no place to hitch team,
,body stops to buy. Look at them
oOting through" he
Right up to the last he retained a n
g share of the custom of the town tn
Id the surrounding country, however. or
here was a sign on one of the rafters N
his maze of a store which reads:
eff you don't see what you want ask Nj
r it." ig
And few things were asked for in sa
in. IN
IF couldn't get thing in Johnny's IN
knew I couldn't get it any place." gu
i'd woman outside the store "And an
5 prices were as cheap as any store IN
re or in New York. He said he never TO-
ught anything but the best, and I oa
lieve he was right. / never got any
ng unsatisfactory in his store in all X
:. life
made a considerable fortune
body knows how big it is yet. But
long his early customers were many
althy New York families who had
lDtry estates near BaySida