I’m convinced that the education I received at an old-fashioned, general store was as valuable as a college degree. Sitting around the pot-bellied, wood stove on a late, Saturday afternoon meant listening to a bunch of old men telling stories of their past and it allowed me to learn from their failures as well as their successes, for they would eventually tell of both if I sat there long enough.
I can remember one old gentleman who asked me if I knew a ‘sure-fire’ way to double my money in farming. When I replied that I didn’t know, he asked me to hand him a dollar bill. I, of course, didn’t have a dollar, but I asked if he would be there long enough for me to ride my bike home and retrieve one. He assured me that he would. When I returned a few minutes later with a crumpled-up dollar from my match-box savings account, the old man took it, doubled it in half, handed it back, and told me to stick it back in my pocket. “There, son, is the only sure way to double your money.”
I now live only a mile from one of the last, true, general stores in America. The establishment dates back to the 1940s and still sells seed, feed, fertilizer, hardware, gas and groceries. Two brothers run the place that their father started way back when and the customers are mostly people from a 10 to 20 mile radius and… if one spends enough time there… they will still learn some valuable life skills.
Everyone in farming (or any business) knows that the cost of financing is a major expense that may well determine the difference between profit and loss. If you could just get someone to finance your operation for free, everything would be much easier. Unfortunately, finding someone to finance your operation who doesn’t charge interest or fees is impossible and the local general store is no exception. As a matter of fact, their policy on financing is simple – if you can get credit at the post office, they will give you credit.
That isn’t to say that they won’t work with people that they know and trust. If you’re needing a feed bill carried for a few weeks until your calves are weaned and sold, the brothers have been known to work with you if they know you’re expecting a large payment soon from the sale of cattle or crops. An upcoming trip to Las Vegas, however, is not considered a bona fide reason to delay payment of your feed bill.
One of the locals came by the store a few days after delivery of a significant amount of fertilizer to his farm. “Do you reckon you guys could wait for payment on this fertilizer until I sell my calves?” he asked one of the brothers.
Since the guy was a long-time customer with a great reputation in the community, the proprietor thoughtfully replied, “I don’t see why not. When are you selling your calves?”
“Just give me a few minutes; I will run right home and turn the bull out with the cows.”
