R911
WOOD’S GENERAL STORE, a poem written by Carl B. Haddix 3/1983 in affectionate memory of the store and post office run by Gwendolyn and Archie Wood in Mingo W.Va. [S030, S031]
Let’s go back on a shopping trip through Wood’s General Store
To look at things that might be found among the merchandise galore.
Along one side you could find the dry goods and the notions
While over in another place there were linaments and lotions.
The candy case was always full of sweets for any tooth
And down the aisle a little way was the U.S. Postal Booth.
If it was groceries you needed, they always could be bought
Along with fresh ground coffee and an ironstone coffee pot.
For the folks who used tobacco there always was enough
Of Prince Albert, Brown Mule, or Mail Pouch, and Copenhagen Snuff.
There were cigarettes and fancy pipes, and combs and brushes too.
There were fancy soaps, and some lye-filled that would wash your clothes clean through.
There were double boilers, washing tubs, and galvanized ten-quart
pails,
Hammers and saws and other tools, and kegs of shiny nails.
There were post hole diggers, logging chains, cant hooks, and big
coal scoops,
Coal oil lanterns, axel grease, and heaters for chicken coops.
High on the wall were wooden pegs where horse collars always hung,
Along with bridle bits and big cow bells, just awaitin’ to be rung.
There were ladies fancy dresses, flowery hats and nice silk hose,
Lacy little handkerchiefs and unmentionable underclothes.
Bib overalls and shirts for men, wide ties hung on a rack,
And long johns buttoned in the front, and a flap open in the back.
There were several pocket watches and clocks both large and small,
With bell alarms that rang so loud you’d think ‘twas Gabriel’s call.
There were Barlowe knives and razor blades, pitch forks, axes, and harness rings,
Red bandanas, big straw hats, and a lot of other things.
How they had room for all that stuff is more than I can tell,
But for sure they had sheep dip - you knew that by the smell!
The old pop cooler, always full, was not far from the door.
For winter days, the Burnside stove gave out heat for Wood’s Store.
Out front stood the gasoline pump with its fancy class on top,
And lines to mark the gallons so you’d know just when to stop.
Corn cob stoppers and gallon jugs were always part of the scene,
At Wood’s Store they filled ‘em up with good old kerosene.
The atmosphere was always nice and friends would often gather
To pass along the latest news, and talk about the weather.
In the State of West Virginia at a place they call Mingo,
You’ll find the store is boarded up, there’s no merchandise to show.
The building still is standing there in quiet reverie,
And the only way for shopping is in fondest memory.
It would be fun to take that trip, just to step inside the door,
And capture some of yesterday, there in Wood’s General Store.