Peering at the Past: Sugar Sacks, Ugly Brown Stockings and Thursday-Evening Ice Cream

Part one of a series

Ice cream attracted a crowd. When store owner Reinhold “Rein” Albert Wolter made his weekly Thursday trip from Houston County to La Crosse for merchandise, the last stop would be at the ice cream supplier. The summer best seller was packed into a metal cylinder two feet high and 10 inches in diameter, then encased in a thick insulated container with an exterior layer of leather and straps, providing an air-tight seal. That cold cargo could remain frozen for a day.

With the South Ridge Country Store restocked with merchandise, especially ice cream, Thursday nights quickly became “store night,” according to area historian David Beckman, who grew up on South Ridge in the late 1930s through the 1950s.

“After evening chores were finished, people would flock to the store, bringing their own bowls and spoons, so they could gorge themselves on ice cream. Thursday night was also when men would gather at the store to play euchre,” where in winter they enjoyed the warm potbellied stove instead of ice cream.

The late 1800s and the first half of the 1900s were the heyday of country stores, which existed within 10 miles of almost every farm, the distance a team of horses could cover at a steady pace without becoming exhausted. These stores provided essential items at reasonable prices and along with churches, were a place to gather for those otherwise toiling on far-flung farms. There was socializing and plans made to help each other when necessary. Before Rural Free Delivery, the country store often served as a post office.

“Going to the store evenings after chores were finished was a welcome diversion from the isolated life youngsters could experience living on a remote farm,” explained Beckman, “especially when school was not in session. Not only did one usually get to see other kids at the store, but there was also that exciting possibility you would be permitted to have a bottle of pop or a candy bar – but never both.”

In 1908, the South Ridge Store was built by 28-year-old Wolter on two and half acres acquired from his brother-in-law John Schumacher. At the time, Wolter lived with his sister Mary and her husband John and their five children on a farm right across the road from the store. John, also an accomplished carpenter, helped with the construction.

In the two-story building, the store was on the main floor with living quarters above and a full basement below. A barn and storage shed were soon added, followed by a garage. Rein remained single until marrying in 1915. For more living space, an addition was built in 1922.

When automobiles became common, during the early 1920s, a gas storage tank and a hand pump were installed. A large handle on the side pumped gas up into the glass cylinder to the desired gallon marker. That quantity would then flow down through a rubber hose into the car’s gas tank. The cost was calculated by hand. That method continued until an electric pump was installed in the 1950s.

Early on, every Thursday morning, Wolter harnessed his horses and hitched them to a wagon for the arduous journey, including a ferry ride across the Mississippi River to La Crosse to purchase merchandise. In 1922, the horse and wagon were replaced when Wolter bought a Studebaker Open Touring Car for his weekly restocking stops at La Crosse.

The Thursday expedition was extensive, requiring stops at numerous wholesalers. Country stores offered far more than food, which occupied just one of three distinct sections in addition to hardware and dry goods. Wolter stocked all the essential items that a farmer and his wife would have needed for survival in the early 1900s.

“Upon entering Rein’s store, you immediately saw hardware items like rakes, hoes, shovels and scythes hanging from the ornate tin ceiling along the left half of the back wall,” informed Beckman. “Things such as nail kegs, barbed wire and balls of binder twine were organized below while carpenter tools hung neatly in their allotted place – hammers, saws, levels and drills.” There was quite a variety, but due to space limitations, “only a few of each and those being of a single style and brand.”

The right half of the back wall displayed “dry goods with shelving as high as one could reach, filled with bolts of colorful fabric, basic colors of yarn and sewing and knitting supplies. Most common among the few clothing items stocked for both youngsters and oldsters were bland trousers and dresses, eventually overalls, caps, gloves and jackets, and for the cold winter months ahead, the proverbial long johns and dreaded ugly brown stockings worn by both young girls and boys.”

The grocery section was stocked mostly with “staples and those few items that could not be produced or preserved at home. Fifty-pound sacks of flour and sugar and boxes of salt were neatly stacked beneath the shelves. The sacks were made from a soft white cotton cloth, which farm wives used to sew petticoats, bed sheets, pillowcases, kitchen towels, bandages when cuts and scrapes required covering and even as a throat wrap, heavily laden with Mentholatum ointment when youngsters had a severe cold or sore throat. If nothing else, the smelly fumes would cure you.”

There were a selection of canned fruits and vegetables for those whose homemade supply in root cellars were insufficient to last the winter. There was increasing demand for pre-packaged breakfast cereals with all the major brands on the top shelf, including corn flakes, puffed wheat, Cream of Wheat and Quaker Oats Oatmeal. Cheerios and Kix would be later offerings.

Salami, which came in large sticks, at least three pounds each, were packed six per wooden box. Canned meats like salmon and corned beef were always favorites. In the 1930s, Spam, potted meat and Vienna sausage became available. When guests would appear unannounced at the Schumacher home, Mary would send her son to fetch canned salmon for a “quick” and “worthy” meal.

To be continued …

Source: South Ridge Country Store, 1908-1965, by David H. Beckman, 2010