There are some marvelous things from yesteryear kids today will never be able to experience—McDonald’s fried apple pie, American Bandstand…and menstrual belts. (I'm kidding about the last one!)
But thanks to the meticulous father of one Reddit user named ArtfulAusten, a tiny, down-home slice of old Americana is being restored as warmly as an apple pie made from scratch. According to his post, his father bought a condemned general store from a friend. The store dates back to the 1920s and was falling apart. Its interior was covered in a thick layer of dust, had huge holes, and the original owner claimed that he hadn’t been upstairs in 40 years. Its lack of love was a crying shame because back in the ’20s and ’30s it had done three decades of solid business with its surrounding farming communities.
The dad was determined to restore the store to its former glory and dove headfirst into the project. He wanted it to be as authentic as possible. He even stocked the store with actual items from 1929-1939 that would have been sold in the store from auctions.
Make sure to scroll through all the images to see two products that would NEVER be sold in contemporary America.
If you find this passion project as impressive as we do, make sure to SHARE these images with everyone you know!
h/t: wimp
The store looked like this before his father started sifting through the dust-covered items...
He re-made the celling with pressed tin and painted the floor rather than staining it, just like the original.
He took swatches from the wall and painted everything its original color. He also kept the counters and shelves in their original spots.
Some of the things he found in the store are pretty familiar to us, even today.
We all recognize Karo, but the price is definitely of another era.
Other than its color, Windex apparently hasn’t changed much since the 1920s.
Although ladies’ hairdos CERTAINLY have!
So has America’s most popular chocolate!
We've got to admit, this old-timey sign is pretty awesome.
And this one is pretty hilarious…
Perhaps, the sign above was more necessary in a farming community than we thought.
Thankfully, the dryer was invented, making its hand-cranked predecessor, the “wringer,” obsolete.
Jarring is making a comeback, but back in the 20s and 30s, these jars were a necessity.
What the flip is pickling spice? If you know, tell us in the comments!
Obviously this paper wasn’t wondrous enough to make it into the new millennium. Advertising FAIL.
We’re going to take a stab and say the “fruit punch” flavor is a combination of all the flavors in one. Yum?
America’s culinary response to Prohibition, we suppose.
And on the flip side, something that’s somewhat prohibited in modern times.
A cleanser label that would definitely be prohibited nowadays—yikes!
America once thought there was nothing offensive about this label. Thank goodness times have changed!!
If you find these images of the past as interesting as we do, make sure to SHARE this post with every history buff in your life!
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
