Ky. town bids fond farewell to general store

The closing of a historic general store in one Kentucky community meant more to locals than having to find a new place to shop. "Piece by piece, history was uncovered, auctioned off and packed out of Manton General Store on Saturday," Jesse Osbourne of The Springfield Sun reports. "That history, 61 years of it, is now spread out across the land like ashes of the dead. And like a death of a loved one, the loss of the store is heavy for those who knew it." Historic relics from the store were auctioned off during to the highest bidder on Saturday. (Photo by Osbourne)

"This funeral wasn’t all about mourning, though," Osbourne writes. "There were plenty of smiles amongst the people jammed into the store on Saturday, too." The store was opened in 1950 by the Newton family, which has operated it since. John and Bobby Newton, who operated the store for the last four years, told Osbourne they just got tired of keeping it running. While the store no longer kept a full stock like it once did, until Saturday it still sold "soft drinks, sandwiches, 'odd and end groceries,' and cigarettes," Osbourne writes.

The closing of the store meant the end to a prominent hangout spot for several locals. "My loafing spot is gone," one regular, Kenny Corbett, told Osbourne. "After the auction, the building, which the Newton brothers think was built around 1925, will be vacant until the owner, Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Manton, finds another use for it," Osbourne writes. "The brothers didn’t know what intentions the church had for the building, if any, but they said they didn’t believe it would be another grocery store." While those who attended the Saturday auction enjoyed themselves, the significance of the event was not lost on Corbett. "I love to do auctions," he told Osbourne. "But I didn’t want to do this one." (Read more)