October 18, 2014. Three Hundred-Fifty Miles, Artsy Barns and Our Favorite Vermont General Store.

 

 

October 18, 2014.  Three Hundred-Fifty Miles, Artsy Barns and Our Favorite Vermont General Store.  I said, in an earlier comment, that the camera doesn't lie, but the photo editing program can sometimes shade the truth.  That's the case today.  I have added a little color to the countryside photos taken today between Lewiston, NY, and Dorset, VT.  The result is that barns look like watercolor paintings.  I like the effect.  Do you?  We passed through countryside, small villages and paralleled the Erie Canal.  There were plenty of opportunities for pastoral photographs. 

I have written before about Mach's General Store in Pawlet, VT.  Mach's was the first country store we encountered when we first entered Vermont, about seven years ago.  The pictures above will look familiar to repeat readers.  What will be unfamiliar is the empty shelves at the store.  As I walked the aisles, I couldn't help but notice that the inventory was far less than half what it was when Annie and I first discovered the store.

After walking every aisle, I approached the checker near the front door.  "The store isn't closing, is it?" I asked.

"I hope not," she responded. 

"Well, I couldn't help but notice all the empty shelves," I said.

"You think it's bad now, you should have seen it last year.  The store was near closure when the community stepped up to keep it open.  Fund raisers were conducted and the store is doing much better now than it was," she said.

"We are from Kansas City and we have been coming through here the last 5-7 years.  We really like the store.  I'd feel terrible if it closed.  And, I feel like I should make a donation to help keep it open," I offered.

"Oh, no, you don't need to do that," the clerk rejoined. 

"But, I feel like I should," I said, as I handed her a five-dollar bill. 

"Thank you," she accepted my meager offering. 

Five dollars won't keep the store open.  But, I feel better for joining others in the community in trying to keep it alive.  And, if it does close, I will feel as though I didn't just stand by and allow it to happen.

The empty shelves make me sad.  You would be sad, too.  The quaintness of Mach's General Store and the village of Pawlet are a couple of reasons why we keep returning to Vermont each year.  Maybe, just maybe, my five dollars will help inspire others to patronize the general store.  I hope so.