After traveling dark country roads to get to Brooklin in December’s early evenings, residents suddenly see the welcoming holiday lights of the Brooklin General Store:
On some nights they also see the lights of the Leaf & Anna gift shop around the bend and the quarter moon above:
General stores, the first American convenience stores, were common in small rural communities until about 1910. That’s when automobiles and the first trucks liberated farmers. Prior to that, farmers often would take their butter, eggs, and other commodities, to the general store and barter them for packaged staples. The storekeeper would then resell the fresh foods. Prices often were not marked on items because many customers wanted to negotiate a price.
A surprising number of old general stores still operate in New England, where tourists seem to love them in summer and wine, beer, and staples sales keep the enterprises alive in winter. Our General Store is the latest in a line of general stores that have served the community well since at least 1872, with only a few relatively short lapses. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on December 9, 2021.)