For some time now I’ve been working on a post about Cecil’s Store. Writing and re-writing it has been problematic because I did not want to come across as sounding critical of their operation. Any local business that can make it today is a good thing. That they are a “country store” and making it is even better. So I give Cecil’s Store alot of credit for what they do and how they do it.
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| Sign on the Front Porch of Cecil’s Store |
Now the however. That said, I have mixed emotions about Cecil’s as a country store per se. Granted, it gives one the feel of what an old time country store was all about, but it’s just a little too Yankee Candle-ish, too faux for me. It’s a great place because they’ve kept the country store thing thriving and I give them that. You can see the old produce cases, the meat section back in the corner of the store and walking around on the creaky old wooden floors always feels just right. However, I can’t help concluding that the bottom line with Cecil’s is that it’s just a Bed Bath and Beyond in an old building. And to tell the truth, I can’t stand to spend more than 5 minutes in the place. (OK, the sounding too critical part came out after all. My apologies to the Cecil’s folks.)
For me, a country store is more about the people who visit it on a regular basis and are the ones who make the store what it is. It’s tough for me to describe it, but I know it when I see it. And I see it everyday at Buzzy’s Country Store.
The passing of Dr. Guyther sent me to re-look at his books that I have on the shelf. In his 1999 Memories of a Country Doctor he writes the following:
The Country Store
When I was 14, I spent my summers working in a local grocery store for my Uncle Hughie Trice. The country store is a fading remnant of bygone days.
There are still “mom and pop” grocery stores throughout the county but few large enough to sell general merchandise. These establishments of the past offered many more items than groceries and household provisions.
General merchandise meant hardware, such as hammers, pliers, nuts and bolts, nails…….
Entering an old-fashioned country store was an adventure in aromas, especially at certain seasons. At Christmas time, candy was displayed in open wooden barrels and the air was permeated by the scent of peppermint and chocolate……
Prices in the depression years of the early 1930’s were startling compared with today’s. I recall that coffee was 25 cents a pound – ground by a hand-turned grinder. Sugar was 5 cents a pound and a loaf of bread 10 cents.
Such recollections have made people long for the “good old days.” To me however, the “good old days” weren’t about prices or things, but about people who were friendly and kind and relationships that were warm and pleasant.
Thank you Dr. Guyther for summing up what I was looking to say to differentiate Cecil’s Country Store from Buzzy’s Country Store. True, my daily friends and visitors to Buzzy’s are coming mostly to drink. Although there was usually a bottle or two to be found somewhere on the premises, the old time country stores weren’t necessarily drinking establishments. However, they did have folks standing around relaxing and gossiping and enjoying each others’ company. And that’s still true to this day at Buzzy’s Country Store.
So, by all means drop by Cecil’s Country Store and do some shopping. But if you just want to hang out, laugh and joke a bit, chew the fat and have a drink or two, you know where you can still do that too.
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| Stevie Pratt, Capt. Jimmy, Gary and Robby Norris |