Inside the Company Store: Post a Letter or Make a Deal

During the Depression Era, the Company Store was the place of much activity. . .Here sharecroppers and tenants bought (usually on credit) their seeds and supplies. . . shopped for food and clothing. . .posted a letter or received their order from Sears Roebuck and Company. . .made contracts for farmland. . .to sharecrop or to rent acreage. . .It's the place where everyone met to talk about the crops or hear the latest gossip. . .Notices were posted. . .The latest news was heard on the radio. . .

It's not much different at the Duncan Farmstead today. . .It's the place our groups gather. . .Purchase their candy and other items. . .Learn more information about the Depression Era. . .Maybe get a lesson in Rag Rug Weaving. . .As the Company Store was, it still is. . .The HEART of the farmstead.

The Company Store might also house the Farm Manager's Office. . .Here the farmers met with the 'boss man'--discussing the terms of the sharecropping or tenant contract and the line of credit they needed to carry them and their families through the season. . .until crops were harvested and sold. . .This was called 'the furnish'. . .The manager or land owner sold the crop that the farmers tended and harvested during the year. . .Then they'd meet back in the office to 'settle up'. . .(SEE: Sharecroppers and Tenants ) . . .

We have Marguerite Brownlee of Dell to thank for our Company Store Post Office. . .She was Postmaster in Dell for many, many years. . .When that facility was up-graded, she had the foresight to store this original Dell Post Office so that it didn't end up in the dump. . .She saved the rent boxes. . .the cage. . .the cubby holes. . .the scales. . .the tables. . .and numerous other Postal Service items. . . They sat in the storage room for many years at Brownlee's Store on Main Street in Dell, waiting for the day to be seen again. . .and that day came a few years ago when the Brownlee Store building had to razed. . .What a surprise it was when Mrs. Brownlee and her family generously offered the vintage Post Office to us. . .We were working on the interior of the Company Store. . .not sure how we'd come up with the displays we needed. . .Of course, we jumped at the chance--knowing that many country and company stores housed the community post office. . .We were so grateful for the opportunity.

 

Other vintage items came from donations and family. . .The Aladin's Lamp was donated by Bobby Hogan. . .The Mule Collar Mirror by Joe Chipman. . .Postal Stamps by Don Davis who also worked for the Post Office in another town. . .The office desk served my Grandmother Duncan for years. . .and Daddy after that. . .His vintage Underwood typewriter sits there. . .It was Daddy's first and last typewriter. . .He never up-graded and used it everyday. . .He said a new one--or a computer--wouldn't know what he wanted to say. . .The drawers still store his office supplies, tapes, and files. . .just as he left them. . .

The 1938 Desk Diary was my Granddaddy's (Earl Magers). . .and the ledgers were found stored in a barn at my parents home. . .

It has taken us years to gather everything and display it for our visitors to enjoy. . .It's been a monumental task. . .but I think it's finally done. . .Now it's time to sit back and enjoy telling the old stories. . .and welcome visitors as they participate in a piece of Delta history.

It's also the place I go to manage our farmstead. . .A place to open mail. . .pay bills. . .enter receipts in the ledger. . .correspond with others. . .The old radio still plays gospel music each morning. . .with news and updates every hour. . .Not so very different from 80+ years ago. . .A simple but busy life style. . .As it was. . .and as it is. . .

LIFE IS GOOD. . .

 

Post Script: My apologies for poor quality of the photos. . .For some reason, it is very difficult to photograph the back office and postal area. . .I suppose there's not enough light?. . .To our 21st century eyes, the colors seem rather dark and forbidding at times. . .but this isn't 2014. . .Nope. . .It's 1938. . .and 'just the way it was'. . .All the newest and best. during the Depression Era.