When Hwy. 521 was built in 1937 between Georgetown and Manning, the Burrows family built a service station with a store and above it on the second floor, their family home. In the style of all Southern service stations of the times, it was the forerunner of the modern convenience store -- one-stop shopping for customers and convenience for commuting to work for the family living above.
The Country Store, still in the middle of nowhere, is the place to buy The Best bacon. For $4 a pound you get a chat with the meat cutter, bacon that is smoked on the premises,all the smoky bacon smell you can inhale, and a trip down memory lane.
The gentleman on the left is always behind the meat counter.
People come from far and wide to get real country hams. They are aged and hanging inside a wired room to keep away the flies. Any other pig parts you want? On this day, heads were available.
A true general store still, you can get just about anything you need, from flour to shirts and hats, from boat parts to nails (in a bin, by the pound), from candy to beer.
Another neat thing about the Country Store is, if you are a family who has shopped there for generations (most are black and poor) the lady at the old wooden counter just gets out her old-fashioned lined-paper tablet, writes down your purchase, and you can pay when you can. Not many of those places left in the world!
My Mom use to run one like that in Oklahoma.
ReplyDeleteLove.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great store. As for the bacon, much as I love to eat it, I seldom do these days under strict instructions from my doctor not to assail my arteries with it. Ah, the pleasures of getting older!
ReplyDeleteWow, a real blast from the past. Long may they continue in business.
ReplyDeleteLovely.. which we cannot see today!!
ReplyDeleteWhat ? No plastic! It's surprising how much stock they can cram into a little store.
ReplyDeleteCertainly have plenty to offer - I know of one such shop here in Tasmania, maybe a few more.
ReplyDeleteNow this is a GREAT REPORT.
ReplyDeleteI dare say that courtesy still prevails at this store for EVERYTHING.
Colin
PS: Enjoying Augusta at ungodly hours here, plus top Australian horse racing for the Sydney Autumn Carnival
and the Commonwealth Games being conducted on the Gold Coast, Qld ! By next week I will be "SPORTS OUT".!!!
Did Paul pick the winner of the Masters?
DeleteI certainly didn't but was quite pleased with the Aussie's efforts.
All 4 will be back again in 2019, plus I hope a few more.
Cheers
Colin
A place that time forgot for sure. I bet the bacon is delicious.
ReplyDeleteBacon for $4 a pound is a bargain, it is 6 plus in the stores here. What a wonderful little store to visit! :)
ReplyDeleteI love old stores like that one. Our local TV channel 5, has a five minute show called "The Tar Heel Traveler" that comes on every night during the local news hour. Lately he has been visiting old country stores. I had no idea there were still so many around, and some pretty close to us. We love country ham!!
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard of a store giving credit for years and years. That used to happen when i was a child and you could ask for it to be 'put on the slate'.
ReplyDeleteAn amazing story. So good to know such places still exist.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to see everything in one shot. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteDear Cynthia, this store sounds like it's situated in Nirvana. One of the things I most enjoy about this kind of store is that while it has something of almost everything, it does not have every brand of each thing. I just think sometimes that the number of choices we have at a grocery store or a department store smacks of absolute consumerism. Peace.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll pass on the pigs heads though as a boy I remember my gramma making something called "head cheese."....
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful old fashioned store - I love those kind of places. I love how everyone knows everyone else and there's never any hurry.
ReplyDelete