The General Store

Our preferred pace and our energy level, combined with early summer heat and need to do the last of our laundry, had us staying in Harrison today. Even if we were on The Mountain full-time already, I believe we would’ve spent this day in much the same way.

This time we waited out the wash’n’dry on the camp store’s front porch. We engaged with park staff and arriving guests as they came and went. It was a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of hours.

Then it was time for errands. First was Home Depot, where we picked up a 55-gallon barrel. (At least I think it’s a barrel — it came in a box. A plastic barrel in a cardboard box.) We’ll use that vessel to transfer water from Deb’s cousin’s well to our fifth wheel’s 60-gallon fresh-water tank.

We’re almost out of puppy food. Tractor Supply in Harrison, where we usually buy an 18-pound bag for $36, is out of what we’ve been feeding our happy Heeler. Amazon and Chewy have it in stock, but their price of $56 for the same size bag sent us looking for other options. We decided to take a chance on the nearby Powell Home & Ranch store, part of Powell Feed & Milling, an independent family business established in northern Arkansas over 80 years ago.

It was our first time there, and from the moment I walked through the door I felt right at home. Immediately I was transported to the farm stores of my childhood in rural Ohio — shelves stocked with everything imaginable, a true general store.

It’s a big place, and I was drawn down aisle after aisle. I couldn’t help noticing that nothing was under lock-and-key — not the needles and syringes, not the leghold traps. not the ivermectin or the antibiotics, not the BB guns or anything else.

Functional western wear for working men and women. (It’s “straw season,” by the way.) Fertilizer sprayers. Buckets and troughs. All manner of hand tools and power implements. Hardware of every description. Tack for horses and harnesses for dogs. Poultry coops. Electric fencing. Even an impressive section devoted to beekeeping.

Puppy food? Powell had Smudge’s brand for $36, same price as Tractor Supply. But they also had 40-pounders for just 50 bucks. I can do that math — $1.25 a pound is better than $2.00 a pound.

Despite 15 locations scattered across Ozarkansas (and one just across the state line in Missouri) this is a small business. A local institution. There are two stores near The Mountain, in Yellville and Flippin.

Places like Powell Feed, Miller Hardware (Harrison and Yellville), Thompson’s Hardware and other independents bring back memories and strengthen the fabric of small-town America. This is the way it oughta be.

Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.

#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath

#LetsGoBrandon #FJB

(I’m sure that this’d be censored if I posted it to social media, so I’m just gonna leave it right here…)

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