Robinson's Grocery

Harvey Robinson's Grocery was located in the old #19 School area. It was situated at the bottom of the hill and on the right of Highway 1245, if one was going toward McHenry from Echols. It was just outside of the Echols area and actually in the corner of a crossroad. Highway 1245 made a ninety degree turn at the bottom of the hill for two legs of the crossroad. Fulkerson Lane was between the old number nineteen school property and Robinson's Grocery. The other road connecting to this intersection was the #19 School Road, a short road from Harvey Robinson's Grocery to Rochester Road. At one time, this connection of roads was a busy place. Ken Mine entrance road was just a few hundred feet from the grocery and located off Number 19 School Road. It was used by Ken Mine employees. This road and Fulkerson Lane was a main road for access to the Ken Mine area for fishermen and hunters.

I am not sure when Harvey and his wife Irene opened this grocery store, nor when it closed. I will leave this page as "Under Construction", and will make updates if and when I receive any more information. To me, the store, was just always there. In the time frame when it was in operation, the location was a good one. The original intent of the store was to offer grocery items to the local citizens and there was a full compliment of the needed items for everyday existence. As Ken Mine expanded, this store became a handy spot for the miner as well as the outdoorsman. A gas pump stood outside and the customer, whether a local citizen, a coal miner, a fisherman, hunter, or some other outdoorsman, found the store a good place to purchase gas, something to eat, or even fishing and hunting supplies. A house is now situation on the lot where the old store was located.

Irene Robinson, behind the counter of the Robinson Grocery, is pictured above. The store was a typical, small town, type "Grocery" in the era of the mid twentieth century. The store clerk had a central area and in most cases, the clerk would be located between a counter and a shelving area. The counter held the cash register, the credit books, the "Grab Items", and other popular items. There always seem to be a rack or two of potato chips, nickel candy, gum, cigarette lighters and other items that the customer would need. The shelving contained the more popular grocery items, like breakfast cereal, can goods, crackers, lard, and other main type grocery items. Other larger items and less bought items would be scattered about the rest of the store. The customer would enter, exchange greetings, and either hand the clerk a grocery list or orally tell the clerk what was needed. The clerk would then "Fill" the list, sack the items and list all down on a "Customer Pad". A bill total would be manually added and handed to the customer. The customer would either pay in cash or sign the ticket that would allow the customer to receive the groceries with a promise to pay at a later date. This date was assumed to be when the customer received his/her paycheck. It did not always work out where the grocer received pay, although most of the customers tried to pay within a reasonable time. Payment by a personal check was rare and payment in the form of a "Credit Card" was non-existent. It would be several years later before the small time grocery stores would have the capabilities of receiving a credit card as a form of payment. Ah, the good old days.