November 25, 2007

‘Mom and Pop’ stores marked 1961 Statesville

By O.C. Stonestreet

A reader recently requested that I do some research on the corner grocery stores of the past. Having grown up in Mooresville, I was familiar with those in the southern end of the county, but not those in Statesville. However, the Southern Bell Telephone Directory of February 1961 and the 1960/61 Statesville City Directory provided the names and the locations of a good number of “mom-and-pop” neighborhood stores from 46 years ago.

Statesville residents had plenty of places to choose from when it came to getting groceries.

Some of these businesses were multi-service operations, combining an automotive service station with a neighborhood grocery. I won’t be so cruel as to mention what the price of a gallon of high-test fuel was in that year, and younger readers wouldn’t believe it anyway.

Most of those having gasoline pumps were connected with a major oil company. Compton’s Sinclair Service Station on the Salisbury Road was one such example, as was Hedrick’s Esso Service on U.S. Highway 21 North, with “groceries, meats, Esso gas & oils, lubrication & washing, tires & batteries,” according to an advertisement. Another was the Josey-Benfield Texaco Service Station on the Hickory Highway, and Bill Waterman’s Grocery and Service Station on the Taylorsville Road. Waterman’s boasted of being open seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Wyatt’s Grocery and Service Station on Mocksville Road was also open seven days a week, as was Cole’s Service and Grocery on the Turnersburg Road and the Wayside Grocery and Hardware on the Salisbury Road.

Many of these grocery stores were closed on Sunday, particularly those within the city limits. This may have been the owner’s preference, or Statesville could have had what were known as “blue laws,” which mandated businesses be closed on the Sabbath.

At this time, there were stores that offered free home delivery, like Cooper’s Grocery at 840 Boulevard, which, according to an ad, featured “Prompt City-wide Delivery.” Sherrill’s Supermarket, 509 S. Center St., featured free delivery also.

Other grocery stores in town were the Wm. A. Pearce Grocery, 343 Oak St.; T.C. Rowe’s Park Place Grocery on Cowles; the Stockton Street Grocery; Travis Grocery on Younger Avenue; and Wilson’s Cash Grocery on the Park Drive Extension. There was also Wilhelm’s on Fourth Street; Albert C. Anderson’s Grocery on Eighth Street; Jim’s Cash Grocery on 10th Street; J. Eli Prevette’s on Winston Avenue; and Fleet Nance’s on Connor.

The Food Basket (“We’re Open Every Night”) was on Sullivan Road; Luther M. Freeman’s was on North Mulberry; and Hilltop Grocery was at 1600 Shelton Ave.

Other in-town groceries were Archer’s Food Store, 1009 W. End Ave.; Fox Grocery at 1801 Newton Drive; Fowler’s Food Mart (“Nothing But The Best, Free Delivery on Orders of $5 or More”), 976 Davie Ave.; and the C. F. Campbell Grocery at 440 Western Ave.

Then there was Dixon’s Curb Market and Drum’s Super Market on Shelton Avenue.

This Drum’s is the only Statesville grocery store that I distinctly remember, as its sign featured a character that looked a lot like Porky Pig hitting a large bass drum.

Fowler’s Food Mart was on Davie Avenue and Gilleland’s at 926 Caldwell St. The Boulevard Grocery, Cooper’s (free delivery) and Goforth Brothers were all on Boulevard. Glenn Fox’s Food Store was on Oakland Avenue, as was Smith’s Grocery & Coal.

Stikeleather’s was at 815 N. Center St., and the A&P and Murdock’s Curb Market were on South Center Street.

The A&P (short for “The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company”), the Colonial Store at 135 E. Water St., and the Winn-Dixie at 231 E. Broad St. were the only national chain groceries in Statesville.

However, there were two Fraley’s and two Drum’s, and with a short chain of three groceries — one on Wilkesboro Road, one on the Mocksville Road and one on the Turnersburg Highway — the Gregory Brothers appeared to be headed for the big leagues.

You could buy groceries at five places on Monroe Street: Fox-Jones Food Market at 301; the Monroe Street Food Center at 316; Drum’s Food Shop at 404; Allison’s Grocery at 556; or at Kenneth C. Austin’s store at 728.

Just as good was Front Street, which had the D.O. Conway & Son store (later Cowan’s Grocery) at 421 E. Front St.; and on West Front, Fraley’s Food Fair at 211; B.H. Nabor’s at 814; Harmon’s Food Store at 1011; Hall’s Curb Market at 1527; and Smith’s Superette (“lots of free parking”) at 1809 “at the Carnation Plant.”

There were many small groceries on the major highways outside of town. There were five groceries with Statesville telephone numbers on the Hickory Highway: Josey-Benfield Texaco; Bruce’s Food Store; Ralph’s Service and Food Center (7 days, 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.); the David F. Sharpe Grocery; and the T. F. Wilson Grocery.

Taylorsville Road had Bill Waterman’s; Lakeview Grocery; Oak Grove Grocery; John F. Little’s store; and Ben’s Grocery & Grill.

There were three groceries on the Wilkesboro Road: the seven-day-a-week C&D Grocery; another Gregory Brothers; and Levan’s Self-Service Grocery.

Compton’s, Fraley’s No. 2, Henderson’s, James L. Martin’s Grocery, the Carl B. Hendrix store, Wayside Grocery and Hardware and Thomas & Howard Wholesale Grocery were on Salisbury Road.

On Turnersburg Road were Cole’s, Goforth’s, another Gregory Brothers and Padgett’s Grocery.

The Mocksville Road had six grocery stores: Wyatt’s, Gregory Brothers, Beaver’s Cash Store, the R. R. Lazenby Store, the J. A. Tomlin Store on the Old Mocksville Road and, coming in at second place in the best-named category, Hager’s Grocerteria.

First place for a mom-and-pop’s has to go to the Mama & Papa Grocery at 440 Western Ave.

At the time, there were groceries that predominantly served black customers, such as Lowell J. Hill’s store at 916 Marshall; Hezekiah E. Houston’s at 1141 Quincy; the Chavis L. Renwick Grocery at 301 Garfield St.; Smith’s Cash Grocery at 1124 Rickert Ave.; and the Mary J. Rickert Grocery at 1006 Susce Court.

Completing our survey are the Cross Road Grocery at Bradford’s Cross Road (Old Mountain Road and Island Ford Road); the M. J. Morrow Store on Sharon Road; Hill’s Grocery on the Jennings Road; and the Weavertown Grocery on Murdock Road.

The country store and the mom-and-pop’s neighborhood store have become an American icon, fit subject matter for a Norman Rockwell painting, depicting a group of elderly citizens sitting around a pot-bellied stove, discussing the news of the day as they kibitz over a game of checkers. We forget that the service was slow, the choices of products limited and the prices higher than those found in the large, impersonal chain stores with their huge buying power.

Still, there was much to be said for personal service, a grocer who knew your name and inquired if your mother was feeling better, a butcher who knew how thick to slice your pork chops and a delivery service that brought your groceries to your door.