This store was operated by Clark Paulk in the 1930s and 1940s. His wife, Ethel, taught school in Irwin County for many years. Thanks to Martha Darnell for sharing this history.
Pine Ridge Store, 1930s, Irwin County
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown
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Bought many a yank bubblegum off the bus when we stopped there . Most of the time Ms Ethel got on the bus at the store. She taught me in the first grade in 1943 , See Dick and Jane run up the Hill. lol, cant believe I remember that or the day the hogs got into our room at recess and ate everybody s lunch. This brought on the lunch room when Mr Charles A Lee became Principal.
Thank you for sharing this priceless memory, Bill Harper.
On the porch of the store is a real relic of the past, a kerosene dispenser/tank…..very common before around late forties when REA programs began cranking electricity to rural areas of the state and people continued to use kerosene lamps and keep them on hand for electrical outages.
Brian, I grew up on this farm and I remember Mr Clark Paulk operating the store. His wife, Miss Ethel was my first grade teacher. I appreciate the picture of my home
Thanks SO MUCH Martha, for sharing this information. I’ve been trying to find out this store’s history for five years. Between your help and Dennis Cook’s, I now feel like a weight has been lifted. It’s such a neat old place, and I suspect most who pass it on the highway never even notice it.
Brian, this old store is located on the farm I grew up on. I’m too young to remember anything about the store when it was in operation but my Dad could. Email me and I could get ya’ll in touch. Thanks for these pics and especially the Cook Lake pic.
Thanks for sharing this information, Dennis! I’ve always had a special love for this place. It’s such a great piece of Americana…
Terry, sorry for the delay in replying. Yes, that’s exactly where it’s located. I have always labeled it a store, and since I’ve talked to no one in the know, I have begun to wonder if it weren’t akin to a commissary. Could have been a combination store/feed&seed. Wish someone could let me know. Thanks again for all your encouragement…
Isn’t this old store located between Ocilla and Lax–on the Willacoochee highway? I use it when I’m driving from Fitzgerald to Lakeland.
Country stores were a treat–I recall ice-encrusted bottles of Coke, pickled eggs dancing rhythmically in an ocean of vinegar, potted meat in silvery cans, brightly-colored cylinders of snuff, Zero bars, crackly bags of salted peanuts, and always three or four men sitting on a bench telling lies.
You have a great eye for recording interesting scenes. Thanks to you, these old places will live forever–sort of like Ninny Threadgoode’s photographs in Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.