The Familiarity of a General Store
A week or so ago, I visited the BCMA and saw the Gordon Parks exhibit. I spent time looking at the photographs and kept circling back to one set centered on a quaint general store.
There was something magnetic about it. The more I stared, the more I thought about all the general stores scattered throughout Maine.
I thought about how maybe that’s how we learn about community. Community isn’t necessarily about town meetings or Facebook groups but is derived from the places that sell us coffee, eggs and a sense of belonging.
I grew up about an hour and 15 minutes from Bowdoin. The first general store I ever went to was Hope General Store.
- I remember walking there barefoot through the woods on summer break with childhood best friends.
- Feeling old and independent because it was our first parent-free adventure.
- The pizza was greasy, the brownies delicious, the iced tea unbeatable.
- They carried Little Lad’s popcorn, which I still buy to this day.
Community isn’t necessarily about town meetings or Facebook groups but is derived from the places that sell us coffee, eggs and a sense of belonging.
Author's summary: General stores teach community sense.
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