Far left: An exterior view of Apple Valley Kitchen, which is near the Apple Valley Country Store. The shop sells food items such as pies, cheeses and fudge and also boxed lunches, which guests to nearby Cades Cove and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park can eat on picnics.
Center left: Lyman Orton, proprietor, The Vermont Country Store in Weston, Vt. Orton is the son of the store�s founder, Vrest Orton, who opened the shop in 1946.
Center right: Children can still fill a small bag with candy and take it to the counter to pay at the Vermont Country Store in Weston, Vt.
Far right: Vermont Country Store proprietor Lyman Orton, (second from right), with his sons Gardner, Cabot and Eliot Orton, (left to right), photographed holding products for sale in the Weston, Vt., store.

ust when consumers think they are safely burrowing blindly into the future, they happen into a country store and discover that they can still drink from a bottle and then chew it like gum, that Cathy is still as Chatty as ever, that they can take their aggressions out on Bozo Bop, stay warm in the winter wearing unfashionable footed pajamas, that kids can still learn to read with Dick and Jane and mom can still smell like an Evening in Paris.


	A view of the Apple Valley Country Store in Townsend, Tenn. Nearby is Country Elegance, a quilt and gift shop, and Apple Valley Kitchen.

If you are not familiar with the dated items suggestive of an era of pot belly stoves, 5 cent gas and penny candy, check out The Vermont Country Store. Take your pick, from one in Rockingham or Weston, Vt., the latter being the first refurbished country store in the nation opened by Vrest Orgon in 1946, complementing the newly burgeoning catalog business of the same name. There you�ll find merchandise you thought had disappeared forever hanging from the rafters, blanketing the walls and encased behind authentic looking apothecary and candy counters of an old time general store.

Wandering the aisles and attaching brand names like Ship and Shore to blouses, Lanz to mom and daughter nightgowns, DermaShave to lotion and Tangee to lipstick, conjures up a whirlpool of memories. Some might remember playing with Lionel Trains, Park and Shop, Rock�Em Sock�Em Robots, eating Walnettos and dousing on the Arpege and Woodhue after a bath with Sweetheart Soap.

It�s a continuous process of trying to find what can�t be found, said Andrea Diehl, senior copywriter and manager of public relations for the Vermont store. When the classic caroler candles surfaced, Diehl began the process of trying to get them manufactured once again. Seeing the old ones, she burst out crying. She described the store as a very sensory experience, where children can fill a little bag with candy of choice from glass candy jars, and take it to counter to have the amount added up. Clerks cut cheese from a block and wrap it up right there, serve samples of buckwheat pancakes topped with maple syrup. Customers can smell and taste things, and hear the creak of the wooden floors.

Diehl assessed, �Sales are strong because we sell things people enjoy, that are very hard or near impossible to find, many that nobody else has. We listen to our customers. What they are looking for we try to find. And things are great at Christmas time. There is something for everyone on your list. People are really happy to get the things I get them.�

It�s a similar experience at the New Hampshire Country Store in Chocorua, N.H. �To walk in the doorway is like a walk back in time,� said Maryanne Canfield, �with the furnishings and lighting and old food tins for peanut butter, oatmeal, as well as tobacco and peanuts, the pie tins and old fashioned big brass cash register at check out, old crank phone that works, and the post office front that looks like the old stores where you would go to get groceries needed, pick up mail all in one stop.�


Becky Butler, manager of the Huntington Country Store in Huntington, Mass., holds a tray of baked goods. From-scratch bakery items are a highlight of the shop�s offerings.

Canfield has been collecting for over 20 years to impart the real feel of an old-fashioned country store. She had quite a bit of built-in shelving installed when renovating the three-story barn and uses free-standing units for displays. But the big attraction is the authentic old-fashioned counters and cases that hold the housewares, toys, gifts, souvenirs, New Hampshire and New England products, everything from old fashioned candy, country store cheese to candles, lamps, toys, gourmet foods, the jams, jellies, pickles, soup mixes, maple products, honey, and salad dressings.

Two items that are doing phenomenally, said Canfield, are the life-size plush German Shepherds, labs, horses, dinosaurs, and giraffes, and the wooden clothes drying racks she spotlights out on the lawn.

Considering the economic atmosphere of the last year, Canfield is pleased with sales this tenth year in business, speculating they were as good as they were because of changes and improvements she�s made to the business. Lit signage at night encourages people to come back the next day. Signs hanging from the eaves inform passersby what can be found indoors. Canfield said people come in expecting a convenience store and are pleasantly surprised. They report they can always find something new in her store and her goal is to always stock unique items. She plans to increase the home d�cor and toy inventory, especially educational toys that are presently doing well.


	A view of the stock at the Huntington Country Store. Merchandise fills every nook and cranny of the shop.

Authentic or reproduced, the old primitive look is what seems to sell the best, according to Carla Sellers, manager of Apple Valley Country Store in Townsend, Tenn. In lieu of local crafters who now have their own shows, Sellers found companies to supply her with unique items that look primitive, home made and handcrafted, consisting of home d�cor items, several lines of collectibles, heritage lace, lamps, rugs, quilts, craft items and candles.

The store also provides food options, said Sellers, not found at Kroger�s, from fudge made on the premises, to gourmet coffees, country hams, watermelon rind pickles, muscadine jam among others, jellies, and a key item, apple butter. Most everything is displayed in an antiquated arrangement. Cake and pie-scented candles are displayed on an old antique stove, sampling is enjoyed on an old wagon wheel table, and the current coffee counter was retrieved from an old grocery store, that previously held dried beans.

Sellers said in October, the busiest month because of the fall leaves, the sales were tremendous, the upswing extending into November.

Local vendors stock many of the shelves at LakeShore Country Store in Livermore, Maine. In fact, a few of them construct the shelving that holds their crafts. A client that makes birdhouses also paints lengthwise scenes on house shutters. Others the store mounts on the wall vertically like a door to open and view what is inside. Another crafter paints signs that might say �north,� accompanied by a woodland scene. Local farmers bring in maple syrup and candy, jams and jellies. These and other merchandise are displayed in authentic apple boxes and primitives, candles and votive warmers are in old-fashioned hutches.

Even if consumers resist the pull back into the past of primitive merchandise, they are increasingly indulging in the warm reminiscent atmospheric glow of candlelight, with or without a flame. For the real thing, Jeannie Foss, store operator of LakeShore Country Store, just got a new line of candles she is excited about. She claimed, �They burn clean and longer and the scent is more intensified. A percentage of the candle sales goes to support the American Farmers which is a plus for us.� A blend of aromas is melted together to present one scent in the soybean candle line that Foss carries. For example, chocolate, whipped cream and graham cracker scents are blended together for a chocolate silk pie candle.


Joan Backus Smith, owner of Joan�s. Smith focuses on stocking practical items that people want and need in her shop.

For those who don�t want to bother with the worry of an actual flame, there is the option of battery- operated tea lights, a new product for CWI Gifts and Crafts of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Sales manager Ohma Willette explained that the already very popular lights, the size of a tea light with a fake flame that flickers, can be used in several ways. �The light can be placed in an enclosed jar where a regular tea light would use up all the oxygen and put it out. You can put it in with dried orange slices or rose hips and it won�t burn it up.�

Foss also sells scores of candle warmers, which are similar to a mini crock pot for the jar of candles. She said people love the smell of fragrance filling their homes but are reluctant to have a burning fire. The candle warmers are simply plugged in and heated up, melting and releasing the fragrance, but without any flame.

Another popular new product is the five-pointed barn star, available in sizes from 2 to 48 inches, made of metal, with a rusty appearance. The stars are generally mounted on garages, barns, and the outside of homes or used as decorations inside, the 2 and 3 inch ones as tree ornaments.

Willette has been very busy with retailers finalizing orders. The frenzy usually stops around Thanksgiving when they want to sell what they have. She sells a wide variety of ornaments, especially the kitchen ornaments, that include mini cheese graters, egg beaters, muffin tins, colanders, utensils. Other items that retailers are snapping up are metal cardinal and chickadee bell ornaments, cookbooks, little house sets, anything with little red berries as a theme, and dish towels, that are sometimes used to wrap gifts. Willow trees are popular in the 7, 14, 18, and 24-inch sizes, decorated with red, green or black berries, and some with stars, crows, pineapples, or pears. Willette said the sheep theme continues to be strong because it�s part of Christmas and the countryside, and because sheep are gentle, quiet animals. Many people are decorating with snowmen because they pertain to winter and not just Christmas. Willette noticed, �People complain that it�s sad when it�s time to take Christmas stuff down. It looks empty and too plain. You don�t have to take snowmen down till March.


	Like items are grouped together in themes at Joan�s in Madison, Ind.

Floral Supply Syndicate in Camarillo, Calif., can keep retailers stocked with the popular candle inventory as well as supplying them with any decorative or packaging needs. Owner Richard Kanner described the possibilities for country stores. �If they were going to make an antique basket, they may use our raffia to tie on the message card. They can use our tissue paper or bags to put a product in when they sell it, cellophane to wrap dried flowers, baskets to display dried flowers, or use our products to package or display their products. They may use our pine cones, artificial Christmas trees, or decorations for a wreath.� Kanner attributes the strong Floral Supply sales for the year to �the best in service, dependability and price. An order goes out in a couple of days. Fill rate is 96 percent on everything in stock.� Besides ribbon, Kanner said a popular item for country stores is the 20 styles of butterflies and birds, both of which can be attached with wire to hair clips and baskets. Nothing evokes nostalgia like the smell of home made baked goods. Apple Valley Country Store�s next door Caf� features home made cakes and pies, their famous fried apple pies and apple stack cake. Also served up daily is soup, lunch specials, ice cream, and hot or frozen ciders.

Bakery goods made from scratch are a highlight of Huntington Country Store in Huntington, Mass. Continuous batches of coffee cakes, pies in season, fancy breads, including a popular pepperoni cheese bread, cream cheese coffee cakes, and raspberry and chocolate, walnut cheesecakes are conveyed from the ovens.


Joan�s has a homey feel with its refinished wood floors, tin ceiling, old antique kerosene stove and antique cabinets.

Throughout the rest of the store, manager Becky Butler packs merchandise into every nook and cranny, fills baskets, stocks from floor to ceiling on wooden displays and hutches. The store is a cornucopia of jewelry, baskets, wind chimes, kitchen gadgets, ornaments, toys and gift items. Butler noted sales have been quite good except for the fall foliage season, down because of all the rain. �You can�t ever make that up,� she said.

The arrangement of a store�s displays can elicit the mood reminiscent of visits to grandma�s house. At Joan�s in Madison, Ind., owner Joan Backus Smith tries to group things together in themes. She might use lamps, rugs, candles together for a homey assemblage. The whole building, which Joan�s has occupied for 30 years, has an old look to it with the refinished wood floors, tin ceiling, old antique kerosene stove and antique cabinets.

Smith had decided it was time for a change so eliminated fabrics and craft supplies and focused extensively on gift lines, home d�cor and decorative items. She now stocks Pip garlands, trees, and wreaths, folk art lamps, candle warmers, kitchen linens, quilted purses, braided rugs, baby through king size quilts with matching shams and pillows, kitchen linens, curtains, towels, placemats and other practical things people want and need. The basement level is designated for seasonals, but Smith keeps Christmas items all year round, along with a large silk flower arrangement and wreath area. She said sales fluctuate with weather, tourism and seasonal changes. When Smith attends upcoming gift markets, she�ll be looking for clothing and unusual accessories for pets. For now, the variously sized metal stars are popular as well as primitives, wooden bowls and folk artsy animals.

When owner Norm St. Clair reopened the doors of his Litchfield Country Store in Litchfield, Maine, following a fire in December, he replenished the shelves with the same items as before, typical country store merchandise, as he described it, everything from meats, grocery items, and gasoline, to gifts, lamps, and greeting cards. The major difference, in listening to what his customers wanted, was to eliminate the videos and expand the wine area. �People were asking for various wines,� said St. Clair, who also noted that since he reopened, his sales have been up because, with the increase in gas prices, customers are not driving into nearby bigger towns. �If they need a few items, they stop at the country store to get them, even though we are a few pennies more.�

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