Grocery Stores

Evans Grocery
The photo aboveshows the Evans Grocery store that was on the northeast corner of the square. The photo was taken in the 1930's. S. B. Evans started the business. After his death, his son and wife, Lon B. and Lottie Belle Evans ran the business. It closed in 1962 following the death of Lon B.

Lon B. was the father of Mary Anne Thurman, and S. B. was her grandfather. She remembers tales of flour and other goods coming by the train carload. One year the whole front window display was filled with peppermint candy at Christmas.

A lot of the business was credit business. Many farmers charged their groceries all year and paid when their crops were harvested. In the 1940's and 1950's the store was kept open until after the midnight picture show was over so that customers could leave their meat there. There were mountains of feed in the back of the store and it afforded a fun place for children of customers to play. Many of the printed feed sacks came back to Lottie Belle Evans and dresses were made for Mary Anne. Eggs were taken in trade for groceries. There was an old asbestos backed stove in the middle of the store and many a farmer sought it out on a cold, rainy day and spent time shooting the breeze there! Groceries were also delivered to customers in town.

The building was originally the Planters National Bank. It went under in the 1920's and then there was a fire in the building. Mr. Evans purchased the damaged building and remodeled it for the grocery store. He lowered the floor to ground level and put in a second floor for storage. The original elevator is still in the building. It was one of the first elevators in town.