Grandma’s Rolling Store
Ever hear your grandparents talk about the rolling store?
In the middle of the Great Depression of the 1930’s Grandma and Grandpa realized they were losing the farm if they did not do something; With 13 hungry mouths to feed, waiting for a government handout was not an option or in their makeup.
Taking inventory of what they owned, all they had was a broken-down old one-horse wagon and a rusted-out Model A truck with both front fenders missing. Granddaddy rebuilt the wagon on the back of the Model A and covered it with canvas. He installed flop-down windows and a back doorstep, and Grandma’s rolling store was born. It was a food truck and a farm-tomarket movement all in one. To quote the Good Book, “There is nothing new under the sun.”
They went to town with a little bit of cash; first, the hardware/dry goods store for cloth, thread, thimbles, and assorted household goods, then the dry grocers for flour, sugar, tea, and salt. It was a rolling flea market, auction, and open-air bazaar all mixed.
Money was scarce, so Grandma bartered, traded, and finagled their way to success. She would size up an old cow and say, “I can trade two sewing thimbles, four rolls of thread, and a bolt of cloth.” A bushel of fresh-picked peas turned into a ½ pound of salt.
Grand Daddy knew to stay out of her way when the bargaining began; his job was securing the livestock after the trade. Grandma would drive the dusty back roads trading iron skillets for cows and cloth for eggs.
By the end of the week, the old Model A was a Noah’s ark menagerie of cows, pigs, goats, and chickens, tied to, on, and in the rolling store. At the end of the week, livestock and chickens were sold to the butcher, produce to the greengrocer, and dried corn and beans to the general store. Grandpa would stock the rolling store for the next trip. They fed their brood with little cash and hung on to the farm.
As mischievous kids, my dad, Uncle Buddy, and Uncle Jack got into the Wrigley chewing gum inventory Grandma sold in the store. Chewing gum was a novelty in 1930- many could not believe you could chew, and chew and it would not come apart. Contests were held to see if anyone could chew it up. The gum came in large blocks like chewing tobacco.
My Dad and uncles opened a block and chewed out all the sugar; then neatly re-formed the block, re-packaged and put it back on the shelf. The following week, Grandma got many complaints that something was not right with that gum; it was not until my dad and uncles were grown did, they “fess up.”
Intuitively, Grandma and Grandpa knew what to do to survive. Rural life was based on helping one another; somebody’s house caught fire, neighbors helped rebuild, a cow got out, someone would bring it back, and no one wanted or expected praise or money. You did the neighborly thing; seeing after one another was a part of being connected to the land.
Farm folk lived off the land, and the big city folk lived off the dollar. Granddaddy said the great depression of the 1930s was a rich man’s problem; he never had much to lose anyway, and if the good Lord kept the garden growing and the livestock producing, there would be food on the table.
Even now, holding those values will see you through whatever life hands you. “Compare not yourselves among yourselves for it is unwise”-II Corinthians 10:12.
Bruce Walker chooses to see the humor in life’s situations and he speaks to a wide spectrum of organizations. To contact him, email: bruce. walker2@gmail.com.
