Evening star., 1954-04-21
From Frantic Future to Placid Past
By irving losh

' paid Of for New England Store
keeper Hiram Bissell. The Shifty- look
ing individual whom he thought might
bear watching slipped on his coat.
picked up a whole dried Goldfish and
hung it down his back on a string.
Putting on his coat again. he headed
for the front door.
The storekeeper emerged from the
back room in time to grab the shop
litter by the arm and start an amiable
conversation. AS the thief grew in
creasingly nervous, Bissell became more
relaxed and anecdotal When the light
fingered one was on the verge of panic,
Bissel changed his tone and offered
some stern advice:
If he wished to steal Goldfish, he
should either wear a longer coat or
take shorter fish, because the stolen
cod was in plain sight.
A merchant had to be on his toes in
the old days. It was not hard to get
into the business Of running a store, it
was just hard to stay in.
Many tributes have been paid to con-
tributionS made to American life by
the old country doctor. the lawyer and
the preacher. But the keeper Of the
general store for some reason has never
received his due as leader and as q
civilizing influence.
Such long-delayed recognition is now
forthcoming in 1.-THE Old Country
Store" leisurely literary journey into
yesteryear conducted by Author Gerald
Carson under sponsorship of Oxford
University Press. Mr.. Carson's timing
is superb in that he provides a pleas
ant glimpse of the placid past at
moment when our men of science seem
to be hurting themselves a bit reck-
leSSly into curves on the path of prog
reSS, tugging us relentleSSly by the
hand. To the breathless foot-dragger,
this is fine chance to escape-even for
a few hourS-from the frantic future.
While apt to be short on formal edu-
cation, the storekeeper nevertheless was
man of many parts. Over, the years
he picked up good knowledge Of .busi-
ness law, especially the law of con-
tracts. OF mortgages and promisSory
notes. partnerships and bankruptcy. He
could draft will for farmer who
felt the need of one and he could dis
patch neat letter for another rural
customer who had something on his
mind that he wanted to put on paper.
The storekeeper did more than keep
store.
Before money became SO fashionable.
it was possible in some sections to live
by bartering. Here, too. the store
keeper had to have his wits about him
If he wanted to break even, much less
get ahead. When farmer took eggs
to the store, it was up to the store to
determine whether they were fresh.
The merchant usually guessed and
hoped. 1t was not unusual for eggs
to turn into chickens soon after they
became merchants property. The
ones to watch for were smooth, shiny
ones. They had been sat on too often.
Even cordwood was acceptable in
trade for groceries, a bolt of calico,
or whatever was needed. One store
keeper sized up load Of wood and
, handed the farmer who brought it in
a nickel cigar. Whats that for?"
asked the pleased, but astonished
farmer. "You win the prize-the one
we give for bringing in the orneriest,
crookedest cordwood seen this year.
and piled so loose cat could crawl
through it anywhere"
Another farmer skinned a cat and
took it to the store. do you buy mink
skins?" he asked the merchant. eyes,
I'll give you $40 for one." The skin
changed hands without careful exami-
nation, since this farmer had repu-
tation for honesty. At next meeting,
however, the storekeeper complained:
"Say, that pelt you sold me want
mink skin. It was cat" II didn't
say it was mink skim" replied the
farmer virtuously. "I just asked
whether you bought mink skins. Any
body will tell you that my old cat that
just died was named Mink. I guess
we're even."
Talk about mans inhumanity to
man. George Clark ran general store
at Salisbury, Conn. He had sold goods
on credit for 40 years and many had
taken advantage Of him. One customer
who had let his bill slide and slide.
asked the price of ham. Clark told
him but the customer thought 1t was
too high. So he changed the subject
and asked the storekeeper to advance
him $40 and "just put it on the books"
Clark gave him the money. Where
upon the customer went to another
store and bought his ham there with
Clark's money.
Plenty of country merchants re-
venged themselves for the larded
butter and aged eggs foisted upon them.
Sometimes they sanded the sugar and
used one set of scales to sell goods
and another to buy produce. A rascally
pop has been known to explain to his
clerking son: I'VE must live and thrive,
you see." One storekeeper offered
molaSseS at two prices, inserting two
spouts in the same barrel, with wall
between them to disguise the fact.
Another sold three kinds of wine. do
mestic. special and imported, ranging
from IS cents to 81 pint It originally
came in three kegs But that got to
be too much trouble. The storekeeper
just ordered one barrel at 81 cents a