Things my young-adult sons are blown away by that used to be common practice

[yellowdogintexas]

324. my grandfather had one of those small town grocery stores (hardware in the back)

We are talking about a town of 250 people but there were a lot of farmers outside the town itself who came to the store for their morning 'break'

The farmers came in around 10 in the morning, gathered at the coal oil heater in the back, and gossiped. They always drank Cokes (generic name coke, we are after all in the south) In the winter, that heater threw out some fierce heat. In the summer there were giant breeze box fans which pulled air through the store.
No coke machine, a huge chiller chest you pulled your drink from. It was fun watching those farmers and listening to them gossip. Now the farmers go the the Co-Op the road, drink coffee and gossip

We had the usual general store stuff, but there was also a hardware department in the back. Nuts, bolts, paint and paint brushes.Various hand tools, yard tools, etc. My great grandfather was a blacksmith and the forge was behind the store. I have the bolt chest which has 18 drawers of different depths right here next to my chair.

There was this creepy little basement (really more of a cellar) with all sorts of stuff ; I loved exploring down there. My dad put a wheel of cheddar cheese down there every year and brought it out a year later to sell. It was amazingly sharp and flavorful and made the best Welsh Rarebit ("rabbit" in our vernacular) .

Every little town had at least one of these stores, and there were a number of them on the highway or backroads scattered all around the area. Some of them were just one room and sold only milk, bread and some canned goods.