At the celebration of life for the late Florence Binner Forsythe, the minister talked about her business career.
Florence and her husband, Jack, operated a general store and butcher shop for 20 years in the village of Parkbeg. Aside from being active in community events and raising a family, she did a lot of health care in the area, as she was a nurse by profession.
“They served the community from that tiny store,’’ the preacher enthused. “They had everything.’’
Yours Truly wasn’t the one attending the service for this awesome woman, who took exception to the use of the word “tiny” to describe the store.
By today’s standards, it was tiny when compared to Walmart, Canadian Tire or Superstore.
But in its day, the store was large, some 3,000 to 4,000 square feet for merchandise by my estimate.
They did have everything like so many general stores scattered across small towns in the west.
The small town general store was more than a business. In most communities, it played a vital role. It was often the first and, on occasion, the only business in town.
The place served a role as a meeting point.
In my Alberta hometown, the general store had two cafe booths, which were once used for food, now covered with merchandise.
A table and chairs in the centre of the store were a gathering place for locals to meet to catch up on gossip.
The table was especially busy on days when the mail train arrived, or on slow afternoons when they played cards, usually rummy or smear.
The store in my community, operated by Woo Chi, had most everything you wanted or needed from groceries to comic books.
A visit to a neighbouring store surprised me. I had never seen that many jeans before.
The community general store played other important roles in many communities — post office, cafe, unofficial bank.
There were no credit cards or debit cards in those times. Cash was hard to come by, particularly when there were basically two pay days a year —after harvest and once the calves were sold in the fall.
Many a general storekeeper extended credit to their customers until the crop was off and sold.
When Woo Chi finally retired, some of his old customers told how he had helped them through tough times by extending credit, even the occasional loan.
The Great Depression of the 1930s saw the role of banker become even more significant.
More than one general storekeeper was left with unpaid bills. Some had to close their doors when debts went unpaid.
The important role of the general storekeeper in the development of the West should be remembered.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
