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Hy ELAINE FLAHERTY Sun Times stall LLENFORD 7 When Hot‘vcy Plant closes the doors of his general atom here at the end of the month it ‘ Vgill be thLl and ot a tradition that stretdles but we: a Lelllury in this village. Plant. who bought his store here in 1945 after he was discharged from tho Royal Canadian Air Force. is the lust of the many people who have owned the building. construct- ‘ ed as a general store sometime in ‘ the 18605 or 705. .Hp‘s put the store up for sale bd- cause he and his wits Dorothy are ready to retire. Their daughter. Audrey. works at tlm stole. but isn't linterested in taking the business letter. So far there’s no one ready to lpurchase the building to keep up 'th tradition. - he closing of the Plants' store .‘signals n.an than a change in Allen- ; ford â€" it‘s an indication of a chang- yirig way of life in many rural com- mflnifias. 1. am one time the Plants' store come petad with two other general stores yhere, and a total of eight stretching across Highway. 21 from Owen Sound to Southampton. With the clpsurat of the store in Allentord theirs will be none lett. _ l "‘l don't know why they all dis- lagnaarau" said Plant. who thinks thptgeneral store. and its counter- "par't.,the city corner store. an) dying I; 91%; throughout the country. "Dei’im 1y V111 30-“ ‘ _ 'Elunt first came to Allen- . hidt re'was a small broom facto- ry and a’grist mill as well as a few other stores. When he closes there will lie Ill/Y3 hardware store left. _ thher small towns and 1' once selfâ€"sullicent com- . 5 become more of a bed- room'town forpeople who work in sun “ - ‘ ‘ :ed to he grain elevators ain‘l‘stution,” said Plant. des» e once-busy village. "an . > 1e people used to depend on tfieir village‘s general store tar all - air needs. they now go into the pity for" shopping trips. or pick up "bdds and ends during lheif lunch ura or after work. ‘ Era ends as But business is still good tor the Plunts 'l'huv stlll got motorists pass in: through on their way to Sauble Beach or Chesley Lake and village residents still dmp in In pick up Ev» erythlng from rubber boots. to fresh produce. straw hats. appliances. sowing goods. clothing and the rogur lar tinned goods and soft drinks. Plant said some of the village's elderly residents, who are without cars or any means oi transportation. do their weekly shopping at the store. "It’s more leisurely." he said Although they have what most people would consider a wide range of goods â€" the inventory once showed 3.200 items â€"â€" Plant cau- tions that they don't really run a gcncral store. General stores. he said. have “a little bit of every» thing". The Plants apparently don‘t have a wide enough product range to fill the strict definition. General stores have also fallen prey to larger. chain-owned Conve- nience stores. which ‘lat‘ge compa- nies prefer to supply. Plant said snme companies now have a policy of only supplying to stores that pur» chase large qualities. and a general store in a small village seldom meets the quota. But general stares have something that larger businesses can't compete with, said Plant 7 storaownara know the first names of many of the people they do business with, and in 37 years in business Plant has server] children and grandchildren of some at his store‘s first custom, EEI'Sr The inside of the store has Chang» ed little since the Pluuls :rultgili it. Some of the shelving that goes amqu the walls was taken down. and a counter that once ran the length of the room was shortened. A Coleman space heater was added several years alter the purchane when Plant discovered the cost of putting a furnace in the late 19th Century building was prohibitive. “it hasn‘t changed much. we try to keep 1| pretty much the same." he said. But the products sold over the counter have changed a great deal since 1945. “Stuff was hard to get then be- g..- er cause everything was rationed," le- memllers Plant m‘ his first few years in business after the war, “When we bought it there wasn‘t that much stock in here." i Once the snortages of the post-war years ended. the Plants expanded their store to include more baked goods. dry goods and hardwarcs. Some or these things were dropped as customers started headingI to Owen Sound to shop a! larger stores that could offer specials. Fresh pmrluce that the store sells now in limited amounts. wasn't por pular during thc Plonts‘ first years of business because so many rural people kept their own gardens. . There‘s one other thing that hasn't changed since the Plants first bought the store. They still open at 8 am. and close at 5:3u. hours orig- inally set up to accomodate people putting in 10 hours a day during the war years. “Don't ask me why we do it.“ laughed Plant. Originally from Huron Township. Plant moved to Allentord when he bought the store. Before the war he worked in the city in jobs where he was inside all day. Tl i'l’llllw. UV. "Herc nobody could build a house so I couldn't see any green grow» log." he said. gesturing out his store‘s wide bay window that looks across the highway to the trees growing near the river. He plans to take advantage of his rural location after he retires. Fishr ing. some travelling. and work on his extensive stamp culluuliun are all part (vf his plans, The Plants will shut the doors on 37 years uf business August 31. and will hold a special goingput-ol-busi- ness sale on Sept. 4. star-Eel.) es s‘” 5 mt elm. « a «é, '1 R, , 2 Sun Times photo by W ly Waterloo Harvey Plant stands at the counter of his Allenford general store, which will close later this month. Plant isn't optimistic that anyone will buy the store immediately to start a business "There's too much rrluney involv. ed." he said. "They‘ll have to be a vast change before you see lndiyi- duals in the business world." But given the rising price at gas. and the decision by some younger people to move into rural areas. Plant thinks. and hopes. that somewhere down the line general stores could be rejuvenated. "With the right atmosphere they'll be back." W