When I was of pre-school age, there was an old general store in our town with our post office inside it. I used to go in with my mother, and the proprietor would sometimes give me a pretzel stick. This iteration is a little different than I remember of the one of my childhood, but there are certain aspects of it that I’m sure were in there. I made this as two separate pieces – the interior and the outside vegetable display and gas pumps. There is normally a plexiglass window on the main box, which is an old wooden fruit crate, and then the outdoor vignette sits in front of it, and you have to imagine a door and walls on the building front.
Most of the contents were purchased, either artisan or commercially made, and there are a variety of things that a general store in mid-20th-century rural America would have had to sell. Items range from meats, fresh vegetables and fruits, and canned goods to household items such as cookware, sewing needs, tools and over the counter medicines. You could also find candies, sodas and a few toys. And there was always a friendly shopkeeper (and postmaster!) to help you find what you were looking for.
