Circa 1930s: Memories of the General Store, Feed Sacks, Quilting and More

Subsistence and sustainability were central to life in the 1930’s. From the thrifty use of Campbell’s Soup as a meal to the sustainable use of brightly colored flour sacks as the fabric for clothing, the men and women of the 1930’s were experts at getting-by on very little. The Great Depression’s motto was “repair, reuse, make-do and don’t throw anything away!”

Throughout our depression-era general store, we point out the sticker-shock price changes in the food and other goods that markedly have changed in the hundred years since these products graced the shelves of general stores in the 1930’s.  Other products are gentle reminders of how far we have come as a society. The books on display tell their own story of the challenges they faced in helping pupils learn to read. Smaller towns and rural areas often did not have money to pay schoolteachers in the 1930s. One-room grade schools were common and children often had to work instead of being allowed to attend school. Millions used one book "The Dick and Jane Reader" to learn to read (introduced in 1931). 

In this time period, a man could expect to live to 58, a woman to 62 years of age. Hospitals and doctors were expensive, few and often far away, babies were born at home, industrial and farm equipment was dangerous and accidents and disease claimed many lives. Work was hard, in cities, towns and on the farms. Across the nation, men and women stood in soup lines if they did not have enough work to put food on the table. 

Between the introduction by the USPS of rural mail delivery and the invention of mail order catalogs, general stores gradually lost their importance. Extensive catalogs (Sears and Montgomery Wards being the most popular) were referred to as “town-killers” by merchants because of their effect on rural townsfolks no longer needing to come to the urban areas and stores. With the increase in automobile travel and improved roads being developed for mail carrier delivery, people began to go to bigger cities to shop. In the 1930s, supermarkets began to spring up, and, unable to compete, general stores began to close.

Among other focal points of a small town, such as the school, church and courthouse, the general store was once the lifeblood of the community. We hope you enjoy our general store.

Step back in time as you walk into Our General Store.