Here's Stanfield's General Store, in North Carolina. I grew up largely
in rural and small town Ohio, and there were still a few of these around
in my childhood. Most were modern versions in a tourist spot, but I
saw at least a couple of actual, functioning general stores. For most
of my 4th grade year, my family told everyone we lived on a farm in
Shiloh, Ohio. That was a "burg" as we called them, not even a town, but
a small community, about 1,000 people, in farm country. But the farm house we rented was
actually a few miles from Shiloh, and was a quarter mile outside Rome,
Ohio. Rome was a crossroads, with a functioning general store, that had
been in business there since some time in the 1800's, I think. That general
store looked very much like this one, which is why I picked this video
to embed.
Walking through the local grocery store the other day, getting my daily share of unhealthy foods, I started talking to a very upscale woman, probably in her late 40's. We talked about how crazy things had become with the Covid-19 scourge crossing the country, and the major responses we have been taking to decrease the spread of the disease. It was a quick conversation between strangers, about how much our lives had changed in the last 3-4 weeks, due to the pandemic. It surprised me when the woman said,
"I have to learn a whole new way to shop, we have to stock up on things now." This woman most likely lived in the hills above Studio City, a very expensive area, right over the hill from the Hollywood world famous Hollywood sign. Her comment threw me, because I grew up in a world where stocking up on extra food and supplies was the norm. She obviously grew up in a world where daily shopping was normal. The quick conversation reminded me of what we called "Grandma's Store," as a kid. The response to Covid-19 is suddenly sending us back to earlier times, in this area, and perhaps others.
When I was a little kid, my mom's parents lived in Mansfield, Ohio, and we made frequent visits there on weekends. My Grandma Kate was a mild-mannered woman, who spent most of her time in the kitchen when I was there. Usually when she was cooking, she'd need a can of this, or a can of that at some point. One of us kids, usually 3-4-5 years old, would get asked to go down to "Grandma's Store," and get a can of beans or corn, or maybe a jar of grandma's home canned peaches or pears. Cheesy as it sounds, it felt good to be trusted to go down and bring up something for dinner, as a little kid. The task was always asked of one of the smaller grandkids,starting with me, the oldest of the cousins, then being handed down to the younger kids, we grew up.
The kid asked would head down into the basement, from a door at the end of the kitchen. It was a dark, unfinished basement, with the washer, dryer, and a big chest freezer on one side, and and "Grandma's Store" on the other. On the back wall were old, wooden shelves, filled with dozens of Mason jars full of peaches, pears, bread & butter pickles, and homemade jams and jellies, along a few nasty things, like jars of pickled eggs and pigs knuckles, a German delicacy, that Grandpa Mayer bought. On the side wall of Grandma's Store were cans of corn, green beans, lima beans, and other standard foods of our world. Grandma Kate always had at least 30 or 40 cans of food, and dozens of jars of home-canned foods. Next to the cans were packs of paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, and other non-food products. The kid of the day would grab the item needed, and climb back up the stairs, then hand the can or jar to grandma. The job often came with payment of a cookie, or on a really good day, licking the mixing spoon or mixing blades of a cake batter or frosting.
The reason my Grandma Kate had a "store," a few weeks worth of food stored up, and always restocked, was because she lived through the Great Depression and other tough times, as a young woman. She had seen really hard times. She grew up in a time when preparing for the future, and being stocked up in case of a unexpected time of hardship, was simply they way everyone lived.
Here in the major earthquake zone of Southern California, also known for brush fires, seasonal floods, and occasional mudslides, we are told to always have an "earthquake kit" in case of a major quakes, that shuts things down for a few days or weeks. People in "Tornado Alley, or areas known for serious blizzards, have similar ideas. We all know this here in SoCal, but most people don't have much of an earthquake kit.
So I'm writing this post, to raise the bar a little. It's time for us to take a lesson from my Grandma Kate. There was a reason my grandma had here little store in the basement. Now, after after 2-3 weeks of many empty shelves in stores, and people hoarding toilet paper and paper towels, maybe starting to build your own little basement, pantry, or spare closet "store" will seem like a great idea to our modern generations.
I'm not saying to buy a chest freezer and pack it full of 300 boxes of Hot Pockets and tater tots, so you can play World of Warcraft for 3 weeks straight, if this happens again. I'm saying, do what my Grandma Kate did. When you go on your regular shopping trips, buy a couple extra jars of pasta sauce, some bottled water, a bag of rice, maybe canned foods (even if you don't normally eat them, they last a long time), and an extra pack of paper towels. In a few weeks, without spending a ton of extra money, or panic hoarding a 3 year supply of toilet paper, you soon have a small "store" of your own. As time goes on, you slowly build it to what ever size makes sense to you. By doing this, you have your "earthquake kit" covered, and you're much better prepared if some other crazy event happens, like the one we're dealing with right now. When any unexpected event happens, you can rest easy, you're good for two or three weeks, even if the grocery stores are not good.
If you are a fresh food only vegan or something, buy some canned or frozen veggies, just because they last forever. If you don't use them in 2 or 3 months, you can donate them to a food pantry, soup kitchen, or other place where someone in need can use them. Then keep stocking with new cans (or frozen foods if you have a big freezer), and keep your stock there for emergencies.
As the world gets crazy, maybe it's time for everyone to go a little old school, build a little "store" of everyday items, and slowly stock up for whatever other crazy event may come along in your life.
I have a few new blogs I'm focusing on now, check them out...
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