Appalachian Old Country General Stores | They Were So Much More

this old video is dedicated to our good old Mountain brother Jerry Marlo back in the old days back in the mountains way back in the Hills Appalachia everybody had to go to a little old country General Store and folks depended on them too for just about everything when it come to doing the trading but the most folks it was so much more than just a little [Music] [Music] store now back in the old days all them stores things they closed on Sundays a lot of them closed on Saturday but most reason for that was Sunday was the Lord's Day most everybody was at preaching back in they rest folks would often take what they had grown things like that in their Gardens and take it down there at them stores to trade for stuff like fly cornmeal lamp oil candles just all kind of things that they couldn't make themselves other folks they'd go and get what they call a bill of groceries you know they'd go down there and they get a groceries list on a ticket you know that way you know they pay their bill on payday or when they got their pension checks or what to call back in the oldtime check but I remember in Old stores well I young we roam around we collect old rank bottles you take them cash them in to help the family out you get usually by the nickel for them sometime three cents something like that few places give a little bit more but anyhow I said folks do that to H with the family or a lot of times we go around cash them in just to get us about to eat and maybe a cold rink or something while he out of playing we never forget that but the tons of folks them old General Stores me so much more I remember being a young and going in them old stores and I remember the parking lot being Plum packed boy even during the coast season of winter inside folks weren't Panic bying like they did today you inside they be a bunch of our elders sitting around an old pot belly stove while they been there drinking coffee reading the newspaper jaw up a storm they be sitting around laughing cutting up joking carrying on and usually folks take turns stoking up far and then some be over in the corner playing checkers to our elders that old store sure was so much more than just an old store it was a pillar of the community a place to kind of gather up have a good old time visit they'd always be so glad to see one another each and every day each time a body would walk in that little bell above that door would ring Lord the laughs and jokes handshakes PS on the back be all around sure was mighty good time and usually that'd always be a sort of a thin cloud of Pipe smoke cigar smoke things like that up in the top up there at the store kind of lingering about but sometimes too folks would have Mighty Hard Times seemed that folks went through a lot of that back then so it was also a place where a body could go talk about the problems and everybody that was there actually cared cuz that's back during a time when folks liked one another they love one another they cared for one another and saw each other through some mighty Hard Times well after somebody come in start you know kind of just explaining what was going on with them why they kind of in down the dumps and blue and work half to death well that's when folks start putting their heads together start talking about a way to help and start spreading the word throughout the community and Bo that they would boy I tell you what word would spread like wild far across them old mountains and usually they would find a way as old saying goes where there's a will there's a way but now they'd also gather up sit around and talk about recent events of the community things went on between folks families people and back where I'm from here in Tennessee back in the old days elected officials claim to run the place but back in the Hills that's where the the elders was law Elders they run the community when our elders said we was going to do something by George it got done and it got done right then and it got done without question and in the summertime backing around them old little General Stores F folks be sitting out on the Port sitting around jawing oh they be kicked back in the shade the old roof old ttin roofs old chairs and things sitting out on the stoop lean against poles whatever they find Talking whittling things like that you know I don't recall time far as I reckon I don't recall I I don't recollect a time that I ain't never seen an old General Store that didn't have an old school bus seat or a bunch of old chairs upside down buckets old plastic milk crates or old wood milk crates folks sat around on spread out all over on the porch often times they' probably be a big old tree out there inside inside the yard or something other and Lord didn't we uncommon folks be sat around out there KCK back leaned up again in s around jawing yeah Old Country General Stores to a lot of folks was just a store but to us old mountain folks it sure was a whole lot [Music] [Music] more [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Jared King TV

Views: 23,269

Keywords: Jared king tv, Appalachia, Appalachian, Appalachian Mountains, Appalachian People, Appalachian History, Appalachian Culture, Appalachian Language, Mountain People, Mountain Life, Appalachian Homestead, Appalachian Folklore, Appalachian talk, Appalachian Poverty, People Of Appalachia, Appalachian Trail, Appalachian Stories, Storytelling, Appalachian Storyteller, Appalachian Folktales, Appalachian Mountain Living, Stories, Story, History

Id: fnFe3-Ei72Q

Length: 9min 27sec (567 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 27 2024