How Bout A Game Of Checkers?
by Kathy White
Title
How Bout A Game Of Checkers?
Artist
Kathy White
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Jefferson, Texas is a historic, beautiful town filled with lots to do and see. It is home to more state registered historic structures than anywhere else in Texas, many of which are also listed on The National Registry of Historic Places.
We visited at Christmas time and fell in love with the general store there. David took a photo of the checker game set up in the middle of the store. The owner told us they have friendly, active checker games going quite often!
The Jefferson General Store is housed in an original building built in the 1860's. It was built by Rudolph Ballauf and sons to be the first hardware store in the burgeoning riverport town. In fact, Mr. Ballauf owned three riverboats himself, including one called "The Friendly." The location of the building was ideal because it was near a "turning basin" for the riverboats. There is still a large cast iron safe in the store today that was owned by the original family. Then Mr. Ballauf's daughter, Emma and her husband, Eugene Meyer, Sr. took over the store. They ran the store until 1977, changing the name to "Eugene Meyer & Son Hardware."
In 1979, Cliff Bode bought the store and all of its contents. He operated "Steamboat Warehouse", using the artifacts from the original store, such as plow points and wagon wheels and other antiques. He and his wife, Anna, officially changed the store's name to "Jefferson General Store" in 1991.
This store is reminiscent of an old five and dime because of the huge variety of things for sale in it. They have an old-fashioned soda fountain. They make fresh homemade pecan pralines and have an unheard of five cent cup of coffee all day, everyday. They house a huge selection of candy, novelties, jams, jellies, spreads, and as they say, pickled everything! Enjoy some Texas Blue Bell ice cream, some music from Texas musicians, Texas t-shirts, caps, boots, and souvenirs. There's old memorabilia hanging on the wall and then a huge selection of funny and vintage signs and cards for sale. There are cookbooks, books, clothing, vintage and collectible toys, and just about anything you can think of to please someone you know. It is an experience to shop around the Jefferson General Store...so make sure you allow plenty of time to see everything. They have a website with an online store. The actual general store is open Sun.-Thurs. 9am-6pm, Fri.-Sat. 9am-10pm and located at 113 East Austin Street in Jefferson, Texas. Make sure you look for the sharp-looking turquoise 1951 1/2 ton Chevy parked out front and you won't miss the store!! According to Mr. Bode, that Chevy truck still runs and was once used for deliveries, but today, it is more of an icon for the store. He commented that people get upset if it's not there!
Uploaded
January 5th, 2013
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Comments (3)
Nava Jo Thompson
All of the above--me too! Love this sort of thing--fave and voted!
Kathy White replied:
Thank you Nava Jo! I am so glad you liked this too! Thanks for the fave and vote!!
Randy Rosenberger
Kathy, I am just astounded by this treasure! Love the home made checker board, and shiny polished stones as checkers, and the flooring and the table and the old ice cream parlor chairs are just divine! What a find! Thanks so much for sharing! Love it! fave and vote
Kathy White replied:
And he gets regular checker players in there, and of course, they have homemade pralines or a 5 cent cup of coffee, or a soda from the old fashioned soda fountain! Thanks so much for your comments, the fave and vote!!
JOHN TELFER
Kathy, I just got finished reviewing 25 of your first images as part of the group, Wisconsin Flowers and Scenery I voted and favorite all 25 photos and found them all very interesting. But this one really caught my eye as you have managed to take the viewer back in time to the old, calmer, slower days of hanging out and relaxing and playing a game of checkers to pass the time. Excellent capture of the age of the chairs and table and the details on the checker board, really loved this photo and even wondered what it would look like in black and white. Excellent photo, voted, google, tweet and FB promoted
Kathy White replied:
Thank you SO MUCH John for your visit, and all of your continued support! This General Store is a find in itself and I loved the atmosphere of it. Thanks Again!
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