| OCR Text |
Show Page 14 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume VI, Issue II May 1, 2002 The Eden General Store Note: The following is an excerpt about the General Store from “My Garden of Eden,” by LaMar Petersen, whose family owned the store at one time. Additional information provided by Shanna Francis. I knew early on that Eden, Utah was the hub of the universe. How else could you describe a town nestled in a lush green valley surrounded by hills, a town that looked like a garden. A town that had a store, a schoolhouse, a steepled church, a blacksmith shop, a haunted house. Of course, the town doesn’t look the same today. There was an old dance hall on top of Papa’s store with an open wooden stairway going up on the east side. It . . . was demolished . . . when I was three. I remember the public dances and how pretty my sisters looked as The General Store in 1941. Owned by Leonard Fuller of Eden, the store was known as the Fuller Merc. they waltzed with the Eden swains. The orchestra usually consisted of my sister Vivian and Fred Jones on piano and fiddle, sometimes with one or two other players. My brothers Gene and Golden would mock the dancers and make silly faces to make me laugh. But I learned that fun-loving Golden was afraid of the dance hall. After he and Gene had gone to bed next door, they would listen to the old hall creaking in the wind. Golden was not a prayerful boy, but he would make Gene, who was two years younger, get down by the bed and pray that the dance hall wouldn’t blow off the store and bury them in the night. If the dance hall memories have grown dim with the years, the memory of the store beneath remains bright and clear. It was a general mercantile store that stocked everything from beans and flour, to buggy whips and hip boots. The post office was on the east side. Mama was the official postmistress of Eden, but Papa too was often in charge. Along part of the east side of the store were showcases and drawers with bolts of cloth, buttons, and spools of thread. The other side had the canned goods, round cheese cutter, salted meats, brooms, and bins of rice and sugar and flour. But the pride of the establishment was the long glass candy case up front with its treasures of penny candy, gum, jelly beans, opera bars, and nut loaves. When Ruth was in charge (LaMar’s sister) I could wheedle a sweet or two, but Papa was a little less gullible. One day when he was busy sorting mail, I skipped behind the candy counter and in my best five-year-old reading voice, recited the names of the delectable Shupe-Williams candy bars: Utahna Nut Loaf, Utahna Fruit Bar. At the appropriate moment, assured that Papa was intent on his sorting, I grabbed the irresistible Utahna Nut Loaf and skipped nonchalantly toward the back door. When I was almost home free, Papa called, “LaMar, have you got a nail?” I trembled. “No sir, I don’t have a nail.” “Well, come up here and let me feel in your pocket.” Adam L. Petersen’s store in Eden, Utah. At one time it boasted a second floor dance hall that was demolished for safety reasons. With lead feet I moved forward while he checked my pockets. He withdrew the stolen nut loaf and asked sternly, “Where did you get this?” I then did what most criminals do— I compounded the felony. “Ruth gave it to me.” “Well, let’s go to the house and check with her.” Where upon he reached up to the circular rack and selected a buggy whip. With the whip in his left hand, and my hand in his right, we marched solemnly to the house. “Ruth, did you give LaMar this nut loaf?” With sinking heart I knew I was facing life in the penitentiary, but Ruth, seeing my pallor, said hesitantly, “Well, I may have done.” For all his feigned ferocity, Papa was a softie. He said to me, “Well, keep it. But next time, ask.” The buggy whip went back to the rack and my career in crime came to a screech- ing halt. The store was built in 1881, and originally owned by Elisha Wilbur, a wealthy merchant by the standards of the community at that time. Upon entering the dance floor above the store, ladies were admitted for free, and gentlemen were charged 25 cents. The dance floor was later removed because of safety concerns. According to Ben Toone, the current wooden floor in the General Store was constructed from the old dance hall floor. Later Adam and Anna—who was also called Eve—Petersen owned and operated the store. Adam’s wife, in addition to working in the fields, taking in washing and running the store, served as postmistress in Eden. The small 10 by 20 foot alcove in the front, east corner of the store, as still seen today, served as this post office. Mail service to the peaceful little farming community began somewhere around 1860. In February of 1920, the Fuller family bought the business and historic home on the east. Leonard, along with his brother, owned and operated the grocery store, Leonard later buying out his brother’s share of the business. Leonard acted as postmaster from this time, until his wife Phylis was appointed postmistress in 1936—a position she held until her death in 1964. At this time the store and post office closed until the mercantile was reopened as the General Store for a short time in 1970 by current owner Ben Toone, and other leasees. After being closed for some time, The Toones reopened the store, as we know it today, in the fall of 1998. Note: See the historical picture for and earlier look of the store. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST Now Servicing Ogden Valley Properties Let me help you rent your condo or home. SPRING PIZZA SPECIAL Buy 12 Pizzas Get One FREE* HOMES APARTMENTS CONDOS PLEXES 895 WALL AVENUE, OGDEN Buy any Pizza & get a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi FREE Store Hours: 530 S. Hwy. 39 Huntsville 745-4100 Jeff Clifford Associate Broker Real Estate Sales Property Management *You must have your receipts to redeem this offer. Mon.-Thurs. 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Fri. & Sat. 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. Sunday 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. 200 2 NT AVA HOUS I ILA BLE NG EVE Financing Available |
