1955 Montgomery Grocery & General Store the Last of the True Old Time Mom & Pops: Ewing , VA

when was the last time you've been into a grocery store and was able to buy some new horseshoes yeah they've got all different sizes hey guys this is John Ward with Appalachian Channel and boy I'm excited today we are in Ewing Virginia just a few miles across the Tennessee State Line and Kentucky area we're in the tri-state area close to Middlesboro Kentucky and Tazewell Tennessee this is a place you're going to want to stop if you're traveling coming to this area and we talked some of the about some of the places here in a little bit that you can visit in this area but Montgomery grocery is one of the very last true mom and pop General stores that I know of in this area anywhere it's amazing all the stuff they have in there we're going to go in and we're gonna have some lunch get something to eat we're going to talk to Bill and Brenda Bill's dad opened this store and 19 and 55 and they've been running it ever since they open at 5 30 in the morning and it's just a great amazing place to just come see all the stuff they got come on let's go in take a look [Music] 49 hey gentlemen getting warm out there today yes sir yes sir more warmer when you're out on the farm yes Bill and this is Brenda Montgomery and y'all all been the owners of this place since when how long now 19 45. 95 1955 your dad took it over in 55. it was about from here to that post we've added genetics and added now we're trying to rest a little so your daddy started he was a store here already or did he opened it up now it was here already okay very small yeah very small so the store that was here how long has he had been here do you know uh no I don't really no it's several years is there Neil Leonard and pearly Leonard owner who did yeah there's a little door right there to come through that's all it was and there was no back room or nothing he just it was about from here uh is that not hardly to that post oh yeah yeah now what what what would I call your daddy about it what was he doing at the time that he wanted to be in the store business he got out of Germany over there and came back home okay and we lived on a hill here and this Hillman got old enough Mr Leonard that he wanted to sell it so we bought that off he bought that off at that time so you've just been a little boy being a teenager maybe I spoke I stayed outside and eat ice cream so you grew up in the store then oh yes yeah so how old was you when you started working in here with your dad well it helped him right on up through my high school and old yeah well I went away about a year and I didn't like it not come back yeah and they liked me being back yeah I'm sure they did and we certainly missed them I tell you it ain't always cocked up to me to go out of the country and start making a living right when you got a guy already got the part of the uh the dish dug oh you got to get in there and help finish it up yeah that's a lot better so what you would uh how old you what'd you when you you met Brendan got married how long y'all been married we was high school sweethearts yeah and we've been married 68 years 68 years how about that congratulations yeah she's older than I am yeah so when did you how did you understand did you come to work here when you just got married too or did you did another job we went up north that's what he was talking about up north again yeah get up there we stayed about two years ago right A lot of people back then did go up north because there's work up there come back and with a good thing we came back because his mother passed away in about a year after we did that I'll tell you what they appreciate you guys coming up there though that didn't care to work what's that now oh yeah they needed help up there didn't it yeah my mom and dad went up there to Dunkirk Indiana about in the 50s too and they came back after a while so I drove a forward ever since so I thought ever since I like to be somebody helps me out I'd like to help him there right so now you you still farming oh yeah yeah what are you farming we got Charlene Kettle yeah between 250 300. wow that's a lot of cattle yeah so how many acres do you have I think oh I guess it's six seven hundred dollars it goes in a mountain when you go back up you'll see that big Dairy Barn it's all that and it goes all the way across the mountain how about that so I guess you've been in the family for a while I guess hasn't it how about that commission oh did you yeah you recall him no yeah so so do you do any of the produce that you sell here in the store did you grow when you're there if you buy that from local places maybe some local farmers I try to buy it local if you can yeah much as you can well um anyway what what do you sell best Church store I see all kinds of hardware and electrical and tag and chainsaws and weed eaters we just try to cover it all got it all don't you so it just kind of probably grew over the years and you had to build onto the store I guess yeah you can take home it'll take on a lot more when you get more room yeah a lot of people comes now because there's not many little stores around oh no that's why we're documenting them there's not many this is what I call a true General Store yeah because you've got generally a little bit of everything it's not it says Montgomery grocery but it's really Montgomery General Store to me you know we may have to change the name but yeah there's a lot more hair than groceries you got uh we kind of walked around and was filming a little bit of the different stuff when we first got here yeah it's different little stop by Coke and pop yeah yeah it's uh and we've got some wonderful help it's helped us over the years and yeah yeah anything else ever since uh she was old enough really oh yeah I've been here ever since he's old enough to come to work how about that so what's up well y'all so best around here at the store do you think that particularly can't think of anything that's a top seller cigarettes is a big sale gasoline gas these uh we sell a lot of hardness anymore just things that people can stop by that they don't have to go to Middlesboro for it yeah oh yeah you just got a little bit a lot of guys come in and said I bet you ain't got this so I said how many do you want well that's what I was talking about earlier I said that we was looking at all the different staff was kind of wondering Isaac asked me this is my son he said I wonder if they had somebody comes and wants somewhere if they know where it's at and I said I bet he knows that where it's at yeah yeah if we don't now but this oh yeah so member's been with us uh what 28 years 28 years turn around here remember 28 years been here 28 years how about that yes so we had a little question I'm gonna ask you I'm going to give you a little test I'll be right back okay Bob where's that back yeah if you'd have Paula here you'd have plenty to talk to she used to tell her she's had something going on she said is she there at home yeah but she's been down here oh wrong we'll ask you when somebody brings that up and what's that how do you know them little screws back there how much they are there's all kinds of boxes he just brings one I give it to him just give it usually the boxes are priced rosly they're not yeah yeah old packets yeah but we weigh them by the pound usually if it's otherwise yeah okay that's some of them had like 12 cents on them or 15 cents some of the other stuff and uh just go back and probably have to look at them I'd imagine some we we recall a lot of it but yeah but some of our customers say well this one was this much so yeah that's how it is yeah so I see that you have a lot of uh stuff back here that's jams and jellies and stuff like that is that sound pretty good for you yes I noticed that uh Isaac said he'd bout some somewhere else the same brand and yours was about three dollars cheaper a jar that's why we try to keep it cheaper cheaper so uh that was uh one of the things people like I like to eat so when you got a place you got food and Hardware this kind of reminds me of a place that I'm gonna hopefully do a video on it's been shut down for many years in LaFollette it was called lounges trading center yes you remember do you remember that and he had hardware and electrical and a deli and ice cream and all that so that age catches you up after the wall and somebody has to come in under you yeah that's right so so you you run all them cattle by yourself out there well I've got a guy yeah that's a lot of work for us now yeah we used to do it all ourselves when Derek was alive he he had a wreck and passed away I'm sorry to hear that that took a lot out of it that's all I say it did how old was he 39 how about that had to be hard well I thought myself how many one of them right there Brenda what is that a coin called pipe yeah General MacArthur I'll tell you what we we found a little bit of everything look at that guys corn cob pie now I'm not saying one of them in some time so I know this is you sell a lot of you are your skill dealer steel dealer yeah so uh I noticed uh uh who works on them for you you service them so somebody brings one in yeah at the farm yeah so if you got one brought in they just drop it off and you can't man tune it up for them I guess yeah we fixed one this morning yeah oh did you wow so yeah you got got quite a bit of customers coming in here looks like it tastes pretty busy yeah well that's the way we like it yeah but uh when I was here the last time I talked to you what time y'all open up in the mornings 5 30 5 30. yeah so we talked about that before why why is it that you started I know it's about the miners originally going to work but you don't have that much mining now do you no it's just we've done it all this time and why change it just still open up at 5 30 every morning there's several people comes out want to work yeah we make biscuits if we have some guys going to work stopping yeah yeah see that big twirl dude over here yeah I feel nothing oh in the morning that over there you just put biscuits and people stopping and get them okay I got you and we got a soft serve ice cream I'll give you one when you leave okay that'll be good and we're gonna get some guys gonna release in a little bit and uh he'll have to hold on at that pure gas now and we're off Levy well pure gas is better ain't it oh you get better knowledge out here I am saying no washboard over here yeah so the spray blacks are still Bound for using them or just for decoration decoration decoration yeah yeah there was a stack of them there but then you got them oh I sold them out yeah I've noticed when I was here last time you had a few souvenirs over there so uh well let's walk down this I'll just a minute tell me let's go over here just a second and uh I guess you noticed her knife the other day yeah that's what I was going to look at it now come right over this way and hit this thing down too um Isaac actually uh works for Smoky Mountain Knife work Pizza production he does their videos tell us a little bit about your case knives you've been doing them ever since you've been here how long you been selling this case ever since day one but we had Boker also which we still have some but uh we've got our house brand in there yeah let's this this uh case sells out out sales long case yeah yeah you always got to give somebody a dollar on freedom a dollar off yeah it makes you makes them feel good you know right so I do too when I when I'm going to buy something to give you a discount one yeah so I guess they sell good for uh Christmas I guess maybe people yeah Christmas gifts Christmas with you now we're down way down right yeah if I got a question for you it's real popular on our Channel everybody always wants to know what they're carrying you got you got a knife on you yep let's see what you got it's a case but it's got the forward on it oh yeah that's a popular one you can sell that thing you sharpened it a couple times hey it'll rip a box open a minute but I can take that thing sticking up the wood there I just don't want time to play with them you know how about hello neighbor all right well I say he's getting him a paint liner and some popcorn and a Mountain Dew that's right that's a good combination all I need is one of their hot dogs here and I'm in good shape yeah we just had one that's good hot dogs up there's another little case I'm Gonna Save this over here right there the little red one we sell a bunch of these things we saw them earlier you got them you got some right down there and you got actually actually got some on the shelf right over there I don't get one up this morning I know you guys are coming you just don't see people selling uh holsters like this so I don't know that I've ever seen them uh this old fella he I guess he's 70 70 plus he makes all those belts he does and everything I reckon right yeah they look all handmade look at that so the belt the belt sell pretty good too yes so what was so are they people wearing these holsters nowadays why are they buying them yes sir yeah they do yeah yeah so here's some of the the jellies and jams I was talking about earlier the canned stuff we all like all that they're not feeling any flavor around here yeah yeah like hats of all kinds safety vests uh there's some solar lights I didn't see them earlier I always like solar lights rope now what's this this looks like for something special what's that for you talking about something handy now right there what is that it's a oh I just grabbed it in front of you and this right here is a gentleman wraps that up for us yeah yeah we sell that for two dollars two dollars and that's the best in the pool of tractor trailer if you get it and we're gonna cut how about that so I even got walking sticks here look at that yep an All-American flag it's American flag yeah we saw that earlier you got um dog food dog food broom Jim got horseshoes down here look at that we looked at them horseshoes earlier and a place to get on the house you got three different sizes ladders in stock I saw it should be four I saw two over there and one here you might have sold one yeah yeah but that's all I saw so far but their stuff everywhere when we look around here bill right here's a good seller two gallons of water water okay yeah you see all the drinks and stuff that people like yeah we looked at the cooler the color the coolers over there I've got all the glasses right here camping stuff you know camping yeah you know we got a nice park out here don't you yeah yeah oh yeah I've been there a lot of people coming out there okay so you get some tourists from people camping come over and need some stuff and if you want to paint the town here's your brush yeah I got Bob Brazil a guy checking out there's a logo is getting them the liners there all this is up in here paint uh painting and all kinds of oil yep it's uh and right here it's the biggest seller unbelievable really so Cumberland Gap yep just over the hill Cameron Gap Spring Water yeah there's a lie that goes out of here yeah I'd say so so if People's watching this and you're coming to uh we're gonna Middleburg is probably the biggest town in the area in Hazel yeah and then Harrogate and then you're just about four or five miles north of them I guess you could ride across about two miles across the state line in Virginia that's where your store is located at yep so if you want to come visit you got the the Cumberland Gap Overlook to see the park bear and that's a national park even the Pentacles yeah up on the Pinnacle you go up and look on the Pentagon you got Cumberland Gap downtown so then you have to do videos at Pickers Paradise over there in the old Tobacco Warehouse they got it yeah antique mall in there now so we make videos there and I've made videos that don't Frosty Freeze uh over there so a lot of people that watch your videos I kind of like to come to that area and see the different places that we filmed so I've always said we live in the best part of America myself oh yeah yeah absolutely of course I was raised here and I was partial to this it may tell you I know what you mean oh yeah I forgot about Wilderness Road State Park just up there yeah and they have that Fort too yeah as you can go see so yeah you can spend a day or two just right here in this area and one of the places you won't see is Montgomery's groceries because there's very few of these places left yeah I sold a bunch of Cedar and gave it to Bill up here to to ears around there for the Fort and stuff yeah yeah they've got it uh I filmed that a couple of years ago when they did the reenactment that's really some you ever seen them when they do the reenactment you ever been up there when they did that they just passed out a little while I hadn't didn't stay long yeah it's interesting see them come up here and camp like they did in 1775 you know oh we're just talking about steel products show you something over here okay yeah let's look at you may have done seen it hey Tim they're hauling all the nails and stuff yeah I saw that you got all different sizes and tires and they want to go fishing we got before you pull your boat with yeah trailer hitches how long you been selling them still oh a long time long time I couldn't tell you exactly couldn't tell and I was talking earlier I think it's neat that you can you can get a weed eater right here and you can buy your drinks right in one one hand you can reach them both that's a pile of drinks down there besides what we have in front right yeah so I guess the the vendors on that probably bring some of this in so you don't have to stock all that dude right is that well if they have a deal I use to buy a pallet or two yeah then you have to start so you can sell it cheaper right okay yeah I notice your prices are uh probably cheaper than the Big Chain stores looks like I wouldn't doubt it yeah so this right here this just know that's for a fence post yeah and there's a sledgehammer and I'm on I've lost my oh my goodness you've not got just one you got about 10 of them in there hatchets uh axes when somebody needs something I like to have it you've got it all types of oil paint all kinds of oil treatment paint spray paints I guess you've seen the back room here yeah you show us Texas back here and show us so you make keys back here yeah that's your that's your key machine and this is all cigarettes right in here you know when there's a change for uh chainsaws chains from chainsaws you know all kinds of chew in the back you got to have a tuna back shoe in tobacco yeah yeah we make make our own eyes good and clean right so what's this right here what's this it's a sealer a sealer okay now this I added all this on Rotten a few years back too several years ago did you build this on to start cooking or out was you already doing some food before you're already doing something there's maybe more room businesses all right yeah we're very blessed to be in this area right here a lot of good people you know and uh they can't beat knowing the Lord yes that's the main thing in life right you can have all the money but he won't take care of you when the time comes that's absolutely right how about that see your church going fella huh yes sir yeah well that's uh I always the best way to go ain't it you've been around that aisle that's got Yahoo but you can show us some more stuff show us some things of interest maybe I say you got a large cast iron right here too yeah how's that do for yourself yeah yeah we have to keep on order yeah and we keep our extra ice in here and ice cream and the almost all kinds of little nuts and bolts in there yeah that's what I was looking at a little while ago when I was here it was like that one's 15 cents and I was talking to eyes and I'm saying well now let me take that person I just need that one you said you don't even charge them just give it to them they just make one and here's a lot of item items for your house Plumbing uh on both sides there oh yeah here's a lot of electrical stuff here and here's some saws and uh a little everything in this hole Yeah I'm building me a a little place right now I'm gonna be needing stuff like that right there pretty soon that's kind of a little bit different looks like yeah that's all offset and offset how about I guess if you've got a joist or something there in the way you can use that about that you run up on the whole thing all kinds of things yeah well you got a lot of uh here's you after work after work to work yeah yeah that's a that's a thousand amps I believe on that thousand watt yeah it is sure is so here's a good thing all all them is plug-ins you Masters there yeah you know you can put all your wiring in it oh yeah you can't never have enough right here it's become a good seller and I'm glad of it pick all your trash UPS around around the house yep they got two sizes of that y'all saw some more hanging up over here somewhere you can come right down in here and you can get you some chocolate milk in this hand and you can reach over here and you can get you some uh Gorilla tape and if you need to zip tie you got it right there that's about the biggest one I think I've ever seen Bill about that and you got the small ones right there too those oh yeah ratchet straps tools you got all kinds of tools going through here um I like to know that we was looking at these earlier all the glass bottles that you got here the sodas that you got I don't think I've tried the glass bottle Mountain Dew I'm gonna have to maybe get me one hey we've got some original over there yeah yeah the original Mountain Dew yeah they don't have all that stuff in it yeah it's just like it made 30 years ago okay yeah I know I've heard it was a different uh blend of it they changed it over the years for some reason I'd maybe change the type of sugar they used or something didn't they yeah I'll get I'll give you one to go with you'll know what it's like okay look there now there's some bolt cutters right there that'll cut a boat how about that that's a ginseng hole yeah my mom used to do ginseng all the time I still got hers they loved it I bought you some groceries oh yeah absolutely they just love getting out in the mountains you know they're raised up in the mountains sauce yep the candy now I looked at this earlier does this candy come in these barrels when you buy it yes yeah you have to pay for the barrel you gotta pay for the barrel so what do you do in order to stop put back in it just order the stock go back okay I got you I said what flavor you like I like Cherry Wild Cherry probably or huh that's an old oh wow how about wow you won't go wild on the way yeah thank you get to one of these drinks right here okay number yeah these are just like it original drinks you've had back in the 40s there what kind of flavor you like I like Mountain Dew well here just get this little pack oh well thank you so much them there let's walk outside a minute you got some interesting stuff out here too yeah we didn't even look at the outside of the store so since I've been here today I've noticed you've been selling quite a few vegetables so you got these right here coming out of Asheville that's a jewel and oh yeah and we got the green and that onion is sweet right here you can eat it like candy how about that well that's a big one ain't it take one then we okay so you know what Jerry Claus calls this don't you Jerry Clowers you said it earlier how about that so yeah we kind of like the way the store looks on the outside with all the uh shovels and rakes and tools and you know he's a local guy and uh he's a local guy down in uh Tennessee doing this already how about that that's it from Tennessee yeah and some nice ones he's got a big place to grow it Yukon Gold potatoes so let me ask you a question right here about your sign is that rotating up there yeah it's just we used to put up her and get the sign but roll me out going up and down so I'll quit doing that so it's unusual it was turned the other way a minute ago says Montgomery's on the other side I guess I used to I could change it no time but now we got too old to be jumping up and down that thing so I noticed this right here let me ask you about this bill you've got a vacuum cleaner out here in the front how long you been doing that oh I guess 15 20 years probably pull up out here and vacuum your car get you some nice vacuum your car get you a hot dog got the air for your tires all right okay I didn't see the iron how about that and there's some propane gas got your diesel pump yeah and we still carry kerosene too kerosene okay he's got kerosene in it yep winter time getting your fire started what is this road number I know they call it 58 58 I call it Wilderness Road Parkway I think too over here on the Newport maybe and uh so nice old house over here that house is built 18 so 18 something yeah it was three ladies lived over there yeah and uh I was redheaded at that time and they want me to come over all the time they're going to rub my hair you know I've sitting on those trees there and ate walnuts the property lift out yeah they'll do that once they get too many of them but that was sweet ladies over yeah yeah I'd take them groceries whatever they could call in for it okay he's doing some delivery man yeah how about that well yeah we've uh Farmers matters moved in here on us you know several years ago yeah I saw the bank got a bank right here next door to you yeah I'm a partner oh okay I'm part banking in venom yeah so you we had a meeting yesterday on the board of directors I guess yeah yeah she had to they built that bank to put all your money in for you nice to have it close right here ain't it we got some wonderful people working the banks yeah yeah it's nice looking Bank open yeah Terry and Ronnie and them got that started yeah now watch us across the street but it looks like another that used to be a a bank also it just went under it went under okay you guys opened up and put them out no wizard a long time before that before they came okay well I'll tell you what we'll go back inside and I will say bye to everybody all right in that mountain beautiful oh yeah Cumberland Mountain Range actually I live right because all the way down through LaFollette I've lived right about this far from it my whole life that we used to ride horses in there and go to hence themselves and stay all night oh yeah easily settlement I've not been there now you have to take a a horse or be taken up or you can't just drop it one day in the fall now they have that maybe if are you going to drive up there yeah okay all right we might need to get up there and see that then yeah I stayed a minute up here you got six uh drink machines outside here so even when you close you're still selling stuff yeah we're gonna get some 100 percent gasoline [Music] so even these pumps here are the the older style they don't have the credit card swipers or nothing on them these are probably what y'all think what year they're from the 80s [Music] I think I'm gonna get me the BLT maybe so we're here to film The Montgomery grocery store today and what goes on here how long have you worked here three or four years three or four years okay so I'm on a BLT and yeah and uh yeah yeah can you add eggs We'll add an egg to that for me I love a good BLT in that egg I just kind of steps it up a notched on it [Music] [Music] [Music] all right [Music] all righty we got filled up angler and some groceries some snacks I only did it one time okay well we appreciate you letting us come and uh [Music] well we delete them out see that's why we it's called editing I said you may need to edit quite a bit well we've had a we've had a good visit [Music] well we've had a great visit today here at Montgomery grocery I appreciate Brendan Bill and all the staff for accommodating us and that got me some Mountain Dews that bill gave me and the onion and some candy so I'm set to get back to LaFollette and we just really love stores like this bill we love seeing American people that's running and operating the little General stores like this you know it says Montgomery grocery but you have about anything a person would need around the house so so we appreciate you brother so we just want to make sure uh what is that what do you call this address here what's your address here in Virginia so Montgomery if you want to find them just Google Montgomery grocery in Union Virginia make sure to stop in and see them and we'll see y'all next time all right bye-bye [Music] one day

Channel: The Appalachian Channel

Views: 79,921

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Id: A_AmJri1syc

Length: 32min 43sec (1963 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 17 2023