New Jerusalem General Store - 421 E Main St
The shelves and counters display a variety of of canned goods, yard goods, farm tools, newspapers and magazines, knives, flashlights, rope, chain, fishing equipment, rounds of ammunition, a few faded dresses on hangers, and common household items. Besides the general run of merchandise, the General Store is a major outlet for liquor supplied by Lucky Clover Cartage. Some local home-brewers supply a limited amount of keg beer (much less profitable than whiskey and heavy to handle), of which the General Store sells a good many barrels to University fraternities.
The proprietor, Rider Adams, also sells firearms, ammunition, and dynamite. There are no regulations concerning purchase, though storage of dynamite within city limits is regulated by ordinance dating to 1866, when a souvenir cannonball from the siege of Petersburg blew away Eliot Olney's mantelpiece, chimney, and bedroom wall. The store is open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Saturday.
There is always a small crowd of loungers here; locals with nothing better to do are often found occupying the half-dozen old chairs and crates Adams keeps for their comfort. This social circle shares, along with the warmth of the conversation and a pot belly stove, a disagreeably dirty brass spittoon. Among the regulars are:
Willie Talbot, age 30: Talbot’s appearance sometimes startles those first meeting him. Completely blind since the age of 12, Willie’s eyeballs are dead milky spheres rimmed with red scar tissue, the result of lye accidentally splashed in his face as a youngster. Willie does not wear dark glasses and uses a heavy cane to find his way around town. Despite his handicap, he plays a mean game of checkers.
Terrence Corey, age 55: Regarded as the best checker player in town, Terrence keeps a hip flask filled with moonshine and is always ready for a game. He likes to place small bets on his games, particularly with strangers, and wins most of them. He does odd jobs now and then, but not often, and rarely with any real enthusiasm.
Stu Graves, age 29: As a youth, Stu became lost in the woods up on Burden Hill one night and slept on the summit of the hill. Stu has never been the same. His family moved out of New Jerusalem when he was fifteen, leaving him here to fend for himself. He rarely speaks, and then only to those he trusts, forming his words slowly and deliberately. He subsists by doing odd jobs around town, sweeping out the general store, or working around the grounds of various local churches. He sleeps in any abandoned nook he can find, and several generous locals supply him food and worn-out, hand-me-down clothes. Stu may know a lot more than he lets on, but one will find it difficult to pry anything from him. He seems to prefer the company of animals, which he gets along with amazingly well, even wild beasts, over that of fellow humans.
Several cats and dogs also have free run in and out of the store, normally gathering around the loungers and the warm stove. Regularly found here are:
General J. J. Pershing, Adams' old English Bulldog is often found snoring away next to the pot bellied stove. He is a rather sedate old man, but he possesses a sharp military mind and learning he picked up from his old master who passed away before he came to stay with Adams.
Master Hawkins, a middle aged grey Domestic shorthair. Hawkins is an old salt of a cat and a well known ratter. He plies his trade on any boat or ship that will take him on. Young cats and dogs love to sit and listen to his thrilling tales of the bravery of dogs and cats at sea.
Type
Shop, Generic
Parent Location
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