Page 102 - Demo

100Stores, Crawford County (167-13)As Lynn and I drove around South-Central Indiana, it was refreshing to discover a small town with a thriving country store. As in the past, they were generally mom-and-pop operations. But the range of merchandise has evolved%u2014from the dry goods, hardware, and penny candy of yesterday, to packaged snacks, pizza, and video rentals. Of course, over the decades, many of these stores have disappeared without a trace. But for every one still in operation, we found another that had long been out-of-business, and was slowly falling apart. Even though there wasn%u2019t a soul around these old places, as I set up my camera, I could almost hear the latest news that had once been dispensed around the wood stove, or under the roof of the front porch. Back then, this talk was as vital a commodity as sugar. We also came across a variety of other abandoned businesses. I particularly liked the brick kilns and limestone mills because I%u2019ve always had an interest in how things are made. These buildings speak not of gossip, but of hard work, sore muscles, and drudgery%u2014and also a deep sense of accomplishment.