Stories from our kitchen table #7 The General Store that wasnt there

From Our Kitchen Table: The General Store That Wasn’t There

It was one of those drives through Northern Ontario that you remember long after the journey is over.

I had a buyer client with me, and we were driving along a quiet stretch of highway, miles from anywhere. The trees were thick on either side of us, and the late-fall days were getting shorter.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement.

I slowed down just in time.

A huge moose stepped right out in front of us and crossed the highway.

For a moment, we were both in shock.

By the time I managed to grab my camera, the big guy had made his way down into the ditch and disappeared into the woods.

What a sight!

But that wasn’t the strangest thing that happened that day.

As dusk began to settle in, I happened to glance at my dashboard.

The little gas-pump warning light was on.

I was almost out of gas.

And we were, quite literally, miles from nowhere.

We continued down the highway as the light faded and the last bit of daylight disappeared behind the trees.

Then, just as the sun was almost gone, we noticed something ahead and slightly back from the road.

A soft, glowing white light.

At first, we weren’t sure what we were seeing.

As we got closer, it appeared to be an old-fashioned general store, complete with a gas pump.

It seemed almost like a mirage.

We pulled in.

Inside was a store that looked as though time had simply stopped. The hardwood floors were worn smooth from years of footsteps. Glass jars filled with penny candy sat on the counter. There was a wood stove warming the back of the room.

And sitting nearby was a very elderly man in a rocking chair.

It felt like we had stepped into another time.

We got our fuel, went inside, paid the man, and continued on our way.

At the time, neither of us thought too much about it. We were simply relieved to have found gas when we needed it most.

But here’s where the story gets strange.

Over the years, we have both driven that same stretch of highway many times.

I’ve driven it with my family.

My client has driven it on other occasions with his family.

And we’ve both looked for that little general store.

We’ve never found it.

Not once.

We’ve never been able to figure out where it was.

No old gas station. No general store. No weathered building. No elderly man sitting in a rocking chair.

Nothing.

It’s as though the little store we saw that evening never existed.

Maybe it was simply an old store that closed long ago and was eventually torn down.

Maybe the darkness, the fatigue and the fading light played tricks on us.

Or maybe…

just maybe…

we really did stumble upon a little piece of the past that somehow appeared when we needed it most.

I suppose we’ll never know.

But whenever I think back to that day, I remember the moose first.

And then I remember that strange little glowing store in the middle of nowhere.

And I still wonder…

Where did that general store go?  Or was it ever there…

Bonnie & Paul Jones

Full-Time Realtors

Sutton Group Heritage Realty Inc.     

416-578-9622