Who Says History Doesn’t Repeat Itself?
Today we can go into any supermarket and buy produce shipped there from around the world. This was considered progress for the last 75 years, but because of the energy needed to do this and because of the loss of valuable nutrients, there is a movement now to buy locally. The practice of buying locally began when Lawrence County merchants first opened their doors. (Of course retail prices are a bit higher now...)
The Rural Republican advertised butter sold for 15 cents a pound and strawberries sold for 15 cents a box in 1878. Cherries were selling for 15 cents a gallon; eggs were selling for 6 1/4 cents a dozen. L R Schmalhausen bought 400 gallons of blackberries to resell in his store. Watermelons were around at a nickel or dime each. Warner Bros (the Walmart of the era adjoining the Bridgeport depot) paid the following prices for produce brought in or offered for trade, “Old hens $1.80 per dozen, eggs 10 cents, butter 10-12 ½ cents, Irish potatoes 45 cents per bushel, sweet potatoes 60-75 cent, feathers 35-40 cents per pound, dried apples 50-75 cents per hundred, dried peaches halves $1.00-$1.25, white navy beans $1.50-$2.00 a bushel.
W.H. Westall and Bro, a store in Sumner, advertised in the Sumner Press in 1902 that they were buying local produce for sale in their establishment. They did not indicate what they were paying but shoppers could then purchase a 1-gallon can of apples for twenty cents, as well as pie peaches, blueberries, and gooseberries for nine cents.
Research by M Wagner
