[Note: This originally appeared in The Soapbox, Michael’s weekly column in The Nashville Graphic. Photo by Ben Finch.]
I remember getting my first pack of baseball cards at Bass Brothers store in Momeyer, a pack of 1975 Topps.
I was hoping to get a Jim “Catfish” Hunter, who was about the only player I’d heard of at the time. He was from Hertford and most baseball conversations I overheard involved him.
I don’t remember everyone in that pack, but I do remember getting Rico Petrocelli, the Boston Red Sox shortstop. At six, I was just getting interested in baseball and that team had gotten my attention.
A lot of significant things happened at Bass Brothers for me and a lot of other Nash County folks. The store has been an institution for more than a century and now it is closing, a thing that is hard to imagine.
The sign out front that faced U.S. 64 Business – better known as Old 64 — said IGA Foodliner. The store offered groceries and a whole lot more — tools, appliances, parts, hardware, feed, seed, hay and just about anything else anyone in Momeyer or central-southern Nash County might need. A person could get many things fixed there as well.
I didn’t grow up in Momeyer, but my mama did and we went to church there and often visited family. It was rare to not stop at “the store,” especially in the summer.
It was always a treat, familiar and comforting to all the senses, but something else, too.
I never came through that doorway when “Sister” Matthews didn’t greet me with a holler that only she could do and make sound like a song. “Hey there!” she’d say, calling my name while she manned one of the two registers.
In those ancient times, every transaction had to be entered manually and she never stopped working, even while conversing with friends, which was pretty much everyone she ever met.
In the grocery section, I don’t remember a time when Mr. Paul Gulley wasn’t hunched over a cart of produce, sorting and culling and keeping the displays full. I could not pass him without hearing a cheerful “Hey there, young man!” and a nod of “Margie” to mama.
It wasn’t so much a shopping trip as it was seeing friends as just about everyone associated with that store was part of the church and bedrocks of the community.
The back of the store was where the service department and agricultural items and appliances were located. These trips were usually part of a Saturday morning with my daddy, either to get something to plant or get a part or in complicated circumstances, get something fixed.
Many of the world’s problems were solved on the benches in the back and I know this because I remember that when I’d walk up, most the old men would stop talking.
Wes and Leon, the cousins who either knew what you needed before you got there or could figure it out, ran that domain.
Upstairs was where the high-level transactions took place, such as getting a check cashed or settling a credit balance. Jamie and Jimmy always took care of that.
So many significant things mark my timeline and are associated with that store.
We bought our seeds and plants there.
Much to my disappointment, they kept my daddy’s lawnmower running.
My first hunting and fishing licenses were bought there.
When Kristi and I built our house, they delivered the appliances. That was over 20 years ago and the microwave is still cranking.
I bought my first nice grill there, a Holland, and had a real argument with Wes, trying to convince him that no, I was not capable of putting it together myself in a manner to avoid a future explosion.
When we had dairy goats, I bought electric fencing and hay.
And somehow, drinks were colder and Little Debbies tasted better.
People like me are part of the problem — as time passed, my trips were fewer and far between. It wasn’t intentional.
Time has moved many off the farm. Things now are meant to be replaced instead of repaired. Groceries, like many other things, are a lot more complicated than they were a generation ago.
There was a certain comfort in knowing Bass Brothers was always there as the road curved on towards Nashville, waiting to help.
I’m sure going to miss the store and I won’t be alone. It’s a high price to pay when a community loses an institution, costs not realized until it’s gone.
I took my sons for one final visit because I wanted them to have the memory. I bought the next-to-last shovel and Kent bought the last crowbar (no, I don’t know why, either).
We walked the store one more time and while the shelves were lonely and most of the people gone, it was a good feeling, one more smile, one more “Hey there” for the road, and a lot of fine times remembered.
You bring back memories of a hardware stone on Garnett St. in Henderson, N.C., where I bought shotgun shells and other items as a lad. The Big Box stores put them out of business, and it was a crying shame.
It really is sad to see these places and country stores in general fall away. They are pieces of Americana that aren’t coming back.
I can remember in 1980 moving into the trailer park across the street from them. I loved to go there because they had penny candy. My mom would always give us her change and we would run to the store. Fireballs, squirrel candy and tootsie rolls was my favorite! Even if they are closing nobody can take that memory away! Thanks for giving me such a great memory! You will be missed. May god bless you!
Well said. While I didn’t grow up there, two generations of my family worked there. On visits to my grandparents home down the road, we went to the store frequently. There was always a friendly greeting by name when we went into the store, something you’re unlikely to get in the big city. Thanks for sharing the memories.
Really sad to see this. Back in the early 1980s I worked at Momeyer Fire Rescue when the station was right across the street. Wes and Leon became good friends. If i needed and good snack or groceries or even tires and gas it was a pleasure every time I went in those doors. I still ride through Momeyer from time to time just to remines of my earlier years and friendships made. Will be sad to see Bass Brothers closed.
I remember the old store and getting hand dipped ice cream there when I was young. Wes, Leon & Edward were one of a kind. My brother Billy was a part of Bass Brothers for 25 years & loved every minute.
We’ve only leaved in Momeyer for four years now, but Leon and Wes have become fast friends. Always willing to help and apologizing for any part they didn’t have. Going to miss that store and especially those two guys!
My mom has lived in Momeyer for over 30 years. I lived there for10 years. I am going to miss this store.