Like trying to understand those second cousins once or twice removed, understanding age in a country store becomes convoluted.
Some of the oldest remain as retail establishments while the original buildings are long gone.
Or a single beam from the original building has been incorporated into a new edifice.
Suffice to say that after a certain age, there is a race to claim seniority.
And the all-important boast of being in continuous operation, a kind of Oscar for lifetime achievement, is a testimony to perseverance in changing economies, demographics and politics.
I am about to go down the rabbit hole of research and see what I can document, what I can tell you for sure about the history of The Wayside Country Store located in West Arlington, Vermont.
I do not expect, nor should you, that this will be just a chronicle of dates.
There are stories here to be told.
Shirespress The wayside story - the look back at the history of a vermont country store, paperback/nancy tschorn
