I have a ton of stories to share with you from the long weekend but haven’t had time to sort it all out in my head. For today, here’s a photo that made me smile.
I had just walked out of this Erie, PA Barnes and Noble when I heard this car start in the parking lot. I believe she’s a 1967 Ford Mustang.
Ain’t she a beaut?
I say it all the time – you just never know what you’ll see when you go out into the world! Happy Wednesday, friends. Go explore if you can!
Today I’m showing you this picture just because I Ike it. This tractor is the one they use for hay rides at Walker Farms in the fall. I saw it while exploring their sunflower field this week.
Don’t let the great patina fool you. This vintage Ford tractor has been around the field plenty of times and still has a lot of life in it. It’s not like so many modern machines that start to fail in a few short years.
It’ll probably outlast us all!
This is your gentle reminder that age is just a number and also that Labor Day weekend is great time to go adventuring!
Let us celebrate and explore!
If you are observant while you’re out roaming the rural backroads of this country, you might catch a glimpse of a community from long ago. An old post office or school, a cluster of houses in a quiet setting, and an old store are good clues that the spot-in-the-road you’re speeding past was once something more.
In my community, there’s an intersection where you’ll find an old general store and a church but not much more. I remember going to Bible School at that church when I was little. I also remember the warmth and comfort of the old store years ago. Back then it was called Fout’s Store and it was owned by an elderly couple named Shag and Helen Fout.
The floor and fixtures, the lighting, the old pot belly stove and much of the stock harkened to another time. I’ll never forget the warmth and smells of that old place and going there at Christmas to buy bulk candy. Oh, what a treat that was! It always smelled like history to me. There’s something about old buildings and hardwood floors that their scents stay with you. In my memory, Fout’s store smells of kerosene, woodsmoke, pipe tobacco and wood polish.
Can’t you smell this picture?
It’s a pleasant aroma and one that’s almost impossible to describe. This old store was one of the first historic buildings I can remember stepping foot inside. Maybe that’s why I have such a soft spot for the place.
The store closed and has sat empty on Locust Grove Ridge for all these many years, a woeful reminder that people don’t live forever and that time marches on – even when you wish it would stand still.
But all that has changed. A friend of mine had a vision for this place and, with her partner, has transformed this amazing old building into something special for modern folk to appreciate.
They call it Stella’s Mercantile and it’s a place for residents and for tourists to find locally made items, snacks, local beef, homemade cinnamon rolls, cold drinks, things you might have forgotten to pack, and stuff you didn’t know you needed at all. They give local artists and artisans a place to sell their creations and those of us who are from here a place to feel proud to visit.
They just opened a couple of weeks ago and I finally made it in to shop last week.
My cousin Garrett sells his turkey calls there. The gentleman who makes turned wood animals, trees and mushrooms that I adore so much sells his handiwork there too. I bought an acorn for my collection as well as a small oil painting from someone I haven’t met yet.
An old portrait of Shag and Helen hangs by the door. Some vintage pieces decorate the space, houseplants await new homes, and an old display case of glass and wood is filled with cinnamon rolls and big slices of cake.
When I closed my eyes, I could almost feel the presence of Shag and Helen and the generations of others who shopped and worked here. Being there felt like a true gift. The original potbelly stove is long gone but they have replaced it with another one. It’s more ornate than the original and was made in Cincinnati, a testament to the craftsmanship and design of years gone by. They even fire it up on the cold days.
For some who visit, it’s a neat old building filled with nostalgia. For people like me, it’s a profoundly emotional place to visit. The manager says that people have cried when they saw it for the first time. I didn’t cry but I did smile at the idea that people I know have salvaged a valuable bit of my community’s past. I am so proud of the courage and elbow grease it took to breathe new life into this important place.
Find Stella’s Mercantile at 26560 Locust Grove Road, McArthur, Ohio. The Doughmaker food truck operates here as well so you can shop and then stay for a bite to eat. Be sure to peruse the selection of cold drinks in the old Coca Cola cooler too!
If you have small kids along, let them take a ride on this vintage merry-go-round. It came from an old five and dime store in Wapakoneta, Ohio that belonged to the father of one of the owners.
Take note that Le Petit Chevalier Vinyards and Farm Winery are just around the bend. You can even spend the night at the winery! And yes, the church still holds services and welcomes visitors. In other words, you could have a lovely weekend exploring the winery as an Airbnb guest and walk to Stella’s for dinner, snacks and a little shopping. Then attend Sunday services on a country church before heading home.
What a wonderful step back in time that would feel like!
Our Philadelphia hotel earlier this year had a fabulous reading room. It’s a dark and moody space that called my name every time I passed by.
It seemed like the perfect spot to curl up with a book but I never once saw anyone sitting there. I didn’t sit there either because we had a delightfully full schedule. The time we did spend at the hotel, we chose to spend it in pajamas with air conditioning blasting and our feet kicked up.
Now I wish I had bothered to run a comb through my hair and go downstairs to sit in this dreamy room. I’m not sure why I am still thinking about it but I still dream of it. If I ever go back, maybe I can plan for some quiet time in this relaxing space.
Happiness is old barns, pretty pictures, long drives and Fridays. It’s making it through another long day and knowing the weekend is near.
You know the drill, friends. Go forth and live a good life. Happy Friday!
My dad is a notorious packrat. In his 74 years on this earth, I’m not sure it ever occurred to him to throw away or get rid of anything more sturdy than a gum wrapper. It comes in handy for the rest of us though as we often come begging for a tool, a scrap of wood or a knob for a forties era radio cabinet (true story).
So I wasn’t at all surprised when he handed me this publication – a 1969 brochure for the National Radio Institute’s home study training program called “Servicing Electrical Appliances.”
This 28-page piece claims the program is for beginners, experienced technicians and homeowners alike. There are some great photos mixed in with testimonials and descriptions of appliances students would learn to repair. From clothes dryers to vacuum cleaners, the course even covered air conditioning and small gas engines.
Every community across America once had a little shop where you could take your toaster, blender or television for repair. It wasn’t uncommon for those folks to make house calls to work on your deep freeze or washing machine. You can still typically have a repairman come to your home for large appliances but it’s so expensive that it’s often cheaper to just buy new then to pay for parts and labor on your six year old clothes dryer.
I know many people who have replaced refrigerators, washers and dryers every few years for the last decade because, while more technologically advanced and more expensive, the machines don’t last. Personally, I have a washer and dryer that are far more than twenty years old and dread the day I have to replace them. They’re basic, non-computerized, made of metal appliances that just keep going.
When did it become more efficient to throw away a toaster then to have it repaired? When did it become more important to have a computerized dryer than one that lasts?
I wonder when the National Radio Institute saw the writing on the wall that the neighborhood small appliance repairman was going the way of the old wringer washer. Wonder what happened to all those people who gave testimonials in the brochure, saying how this course gained them side gigs, promotions and raises that gave them hope for the future
We spend so much money buying shiny new things that will just be discarded because it’s more appealing to shop than to fix. I think history will judge us for our appetite for cheaply made junk piling up in our landfills.
Meanwhile, send good vibes to my washer and dryer because I really do want to keep them!