THE OLD STORE ON THE RIDGE ROAD.
Aunt Sarah found in Mary a willing listener when talking of the time
in years past when her grandfather kept a small "Country Store" on the
Ridge Road in Bucks County. She also remembered, when a child of ten,
accompanying her grandfather on one of his trips when he drove to
Philadelphia to purchase goods for his store.
"They had no trolley cars in those days?" asked Mary.
"No, my dear, neither did they have steam cars between the different
towns and cities as we have now."
"At grandfather's store could be bought both groceries and dry goods.
The surrounding farmers' wives brought to the store weekly fresh print
butter, eggs, pot cheese and hand-case, crocks of apple-butter, dried
sweet corn, beans, cherries, peach and apple 'Snitz,' taking in
exchange sugar, starch, coffee, molasses, etc. My father tapped his
sugar maples and mother cooked down the syrup until thick, and we used
that in place of molasses. They also took in exchange shaker flannel,
nankeen, indigo blue and 'Simpson' gray calico, which mother
considered superior to any other, both for its washing and wearing
qualities. The farmers who came occasionally to the store to shop for
different members of the family frequently bought whole pieces of
calico of one pattern, and," affirmed Aunt Sarah, "I knew of one
farmer who bought several whole pieces of one pattern with rather
large figures on a dark wine ground, resembling somewhat the gay
figures on an old paisley shawl. He said 'twas a good, serviceable
color, and more economical to buy it all alike, and remarked: 'What's
the difference, anyway? Calico is calico.' From the same piece of
calico his wife made dresses, aprons and sunbonnets for herself and
daughters, shirts for the farmer and his sons (the boys were young,
fortunately), and patchwork quilts and comfortables from the
remainder."
"Rather monotonous, I should think," said Mary. "I am surprised his
wife did not make him wear coat and trousers made from the same piece
of calico."
[Illustration: THE OLD STORE ON RIDGE ROAD]
"The dry goods," continued Aunt Sarah, "retained the scent of coffee,
cheese and dried fruits some time after being purchased but no one
minded that in those days. I still remember how perfectly wonderful to
me when a child appeared the large, wide-mouthed glass jars containing
candy. There were red and white striped mint sticks, striped yellow
and white lemon sticks and hoarhound and clear, wine-colored sticks
striped with lines of white, flavored with anise-seed. One jar
contained clear lemon-colored 'Sour Balls,' preferred by us children
on account of their lasting qualities, as also were the jujubees,
which resembled nothing so much as gutta percha, and possessed equally
as fine flavor; also pink and yellow sugar-frosted gumdrops. In a case
at one end of the counter were squares of thick white paper covered
with rows of small pink, also white, 'peppermint buttons,' small
sticks, two inches in length, of chewing gum in waxed paper, a white,
tasteless, crystalline substance resembling paraffine. What longing
eyes I frequently cast at the small scalloped cakes of maple sugar,
prohibitive as regards cost. They sold for a nickel, am I was always
inordinately fond of maple sugar, but the price was prohibitive. I
seldom possessed more than a penny to spend in those days, and not
always that. Father raised a large family, money was never plentiful,
and we relished the plain, cheap candies usually sold in those days
more than many children of the present day do the finest and most
expensive cream chocolates, to many of whom in this extravagant age a
dollar is not valued more highly than was a penny by us in years gone
by. And 'Candy Secrets!' I don't believe you know what they are like.
I've not seen any for years. They were small, square pieces of
taffy-like candy, wrapped in squares of gilt or silver paper,
inclosing a small strip of paper containing a couple of sentimental
lines or jingle. Later came 'French Secrets.' They consisted of a
small oblong piece of candy about an inch in length, wrapped in tissue
paper of different colors, having fringed ends, twisted together at
either end. These also inclosed a tiny strip of paper containing a
line or two. Small, white candy hearts contained the words in pink
letters, 'Little Sweetheart,' 'I Love You,' 'Name the Day,' etc. These
were invariably distributed among the young folks at small parties and
created no end of merriment."
"Mary, old as I am, I still remember the delight I experienced when a
little, rosy-cheeked urchin surreptitiously passed me around the
corner of my desk at the old 'Cross Roads School' a 'Secret,' with the
words, 'Do you love me?' My grandmother always kept a supply of
hoarhound and peppermint lozenges in her knitting basket to give us
children should we complain of hoarseness. My, but 'twas astonishing
to hear us all cough until grandmother's supply of mints was
exhausted. I think. Mary, I must have had a 'sweet tooth' when a
child, as my recollections seem to be principally about the candy kept
in my grandfather's store. I suppose in those early days of my
childhood candy appealed to me more than anything else, as never
having had a surfeit of sweets, candy to me was a rare treat. I
remember, Mary, when a little child, my thrifty mother, wishing to
encourage me to learn to knit my own stockings, she, when winding the
skein of German yarn into a ball, occasionally wound a penny in with
the yarn. I was allowed to spend the penny only after I had knitted
the yarn and the penny had fallen from the ball. What untold wealth
that penny represented! And planning how to spend it was greater
pleasure still. Many a pair of long old-fashioned, dark blue and
red-striped stockings, were finished more quickly than otherwise would
have been done without the promised reward. I became proficient in
knitting at an early age," continued Aunt Sarah; "a truly feminine
occupation, and as I one time heard a wise old physician remark,
'Soothing to the nerves,' which I know to be true, having knitted many
a worry into the heel of a sock. I learned at an early age the value
of money, and once having acquired the saving habit, it is not
possible to be wasteful in later life."