0 Herald & Lantern 20 June '84 dining & entertainment «

H nj I IB I "IS&iHBflpBm ■ dB 1 i mt i ' '• "r" TRANSFORMED — Now a private home. Smith country store in Petersbury, with board and batten construction, is showing few signs of age. Building has been neighborhood j landmark for 100 years. '

TRANSPLANTED — Country Store at Historic Cold Spring Village was moved to site from Marmora, where it had been created by joining two structures in 18th Century. Durrenovation a coin dated 1794 was found in stairwell. Jf

Old Country Store: A Peaceful Haven I I w

By CLARE CAMPBELL We're forever reading about old country stores sprinkled around the nation. It's way past time we read about one of our own. It isn't in business any

more, but the building is Still there and everyone in Cape May County over the age of 30 has fond memories of it. This. store is in Petersburg and wa^ the focal point of the town for

clof ? to a hundred years — Ma be more. If anyone knows just how old that store is I'd love to know. It's up near "the light" (the only traffic signal in Petersburg), and you'll pass it on your way to the church. It's square and painted white and, though M.okl, it has an up-to-date look about it. I'm told it's a private dwelling these days. WHAT FUN it would be to live irf it! If I were the owner I'd leave all those nice wide shelves right where they were and the two counters — and that big coffee grinder with the smooth handle and. beautiful wheel. I'd pull up a high stool and eat my breakfast on one counter and the other (where the wheel is) would be used to display some of my treasures: a carved bluebill and a mallard, a chickadee and a bluebird, our carved foot-high camel and our two precious porcelain owls perched on their mahogany base that features the brass inscripition: "Peaches and Lover — 1925-1975". So that tells you when our Daughter gave it to us. O.K, so I got personal. You want cold, unfeeling writing? Get out your dictionary. BUT BACK to the store. Getting a slice of ham there was an event when I was a little girl. You went in and you said, "Mr. Smith, Mother wants a slice of ham." I was never in a hurry, and a good thing, for Mr. Smith, all the kids said, was "slower than tar goin' up hill in the winter time". He'd get the ham out of the case. Then he'd look around for his saw and the big knife. If you timed him you'd find he took a couple minutes for these preparations. Then he'd gently cut back and forth, through the meat. Now came the good part : watching him saw the little bone. Yes, the bone, as you know, IS little and one might think that two or three pushes would sever it. Not by Mr. Smith! It took at least five minutes. He looked so cute standing there gently sawing. He was not a* tall man - and one day when my dad arrived as a ham bone was being cut through, he said to Mr. Smith: "Whatcha doin', Short, fiddlin'?" THAT STORY went around <fflwn and still makes me smile every [ time I think of it.

There was a candy case that held wonderful things for a penny eaeh: Waxen whistles that, when their whistle got tired, were chewed like today's chewing gum; "lickerish" strings, marshmallow-filled clams, chocolate almonds — five for a penny — all sorts of goodies. One high shelf held gloves and boots and shoes and "mugs" because there weje very few bathroom in Petersburg then. Weighed-out cakes were popular, especially the ones with coconut, which were called "washboards" because they had ridges in ^ them. THERE WERE a few cans of this and that on display, but roost of them were left in their nice wooden boxes tili qeeded and these boxes 'provhted seats for all the men JJxat gathered here evervjUght, except Sunday, to socialize and enjoy the glow of the big pot-bellied stove. The nights were made bright by the glow of old oil lamps with chimneys kept shining clean by Tom, Mr. Smith's brother who worked there. He polished those chimneys with newspaper and it always seemed that he enjoyed keeping them free of soot. In fact, everything he did appeared to be a joyous task. We all loved him and now I know why: He epitomized peace and contentment and we all sensed it, though we couldn't have * Ross Awarded Scholarship PITTSBURGH - Doris Ross, valedictorian of Middle Township High School, Class of '84, has been awarded a full four -year scholarship to Chatam College here. Chatam is a fouryear, liberal arets college for women which shares facilities with eight other colleges and universities in the Pittsburgh area. This scholarship is valued at approximately $40,000. Miss Ross has been a member of the MTHS hockey and softball teams for the past four years and was captain of the hockey team this year. In addition. Miss Ross has been a participant in Student Government Day for the past two years and a member of the National Honor Society since her junior year.

explained it. These were two darling men — never out of patience! QUESTION: How many men can you thinlfof today who exude these glorious ' qualities? If you know even three you're lucky!

S m i tjV s Store! A leisureljBiin haven back then. A$£lace to meet friends, Ml what you need ed and W e money left over. A lively, peaceful, happy cSitry store, and we miss v

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