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La Porte County Historical Society 
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General Store Display In the period rooms exhibit area of the museum, this display captures an everday part of life in times past. Every neighborhood had a small store, or “grocery”, where basic foods were purchased, and everyday household items could be bought. The shelves of the display are filled with old items still in their packages, including soaps, stove polish, glass lantern chimneys, and small bits of hardware. The store is “heated” with an antique potbelly stove, a checkerboard is ready for the local old gentlemen to stop in for a game and a bit of gossip, and the store proprietor is standing proudly surveying his tidy, well-stocked store.
The system of credit known as an “account” or “tab” was common in small groceries such as this. The store proprietor usually knew his customers well, and since groceries were bought in small quantities several times a week, most shoppers had their purchases added to their accounts. They were expected to “settle up” by paying in cash once a month or so. This metal and wood “register” held each customer’s paper “tabs” on which purchases were recorded.
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Copyright © 2002 by LaPorte County Historical Society |
