DeHart's was the oldest and was part of the DeHart house. There were at least two gas pumps, one for regular and one for Ethyl, in front of the store. These were the kind of pumps which had a top section of glass with gradation markings indicating gallons. You could drive up to the pumps on either side as there was a drive space between them and the steps to the store; there was also a roof overhead supported by two columns. The steps, about six of them, were at least eight feet wide and lead to a landing where there was the door to enter the store. To the left was a large rectangular metal box with a hand pump attached. This was where we got coal oil (kerosene) for our lamps. We had a glass gallon jug with a finger sized ring at its neck for use in carrying it. A couple turns of the pump handle would fill the jug; for a stopper we used a wad of cloth, a potato, a corncob, anything that would do the job.

Just inside the door, to the left, there was a mostly glass display case with a shelf or two. Behind the display case was Mr DeHart's office corner with a desk where kept his paperwork. Actually, I'm a little fuzzy on this; it may be that the display case was beside the left side of the desk.

I remember seeing in the display case a log cabin shaped tin container of Log Cabin Syrup; there were windows and doors painted on the metal and a screw cap topped the chimney which was the spout for pouring the syrup. There was also a metal container of Half And Half tobacco for making cigarettes; many smokers in those days rolled their own. Tobacco tins were usually designed to fit in the pocket and this brand was unique because the tin was in two parts and when it was half empty, you could push the top half down reducing it to half size. Half And Half, Bugle and Bull Durham (which came in a small cloth bag with a drawstring) were popular brands of the day. With the tobacco, you also got a small pack of cigarette papers in which to roll the tobacco; cigarette rolling devices were also available for the inept or those who wanted an evenly rolled cigarette.

The desk was situated so that its right side was against the front wall of the store. Sitting in his chair, Mr DeHart could look out the window and see anyone pumping gas or coal oil or look forward and see anyone entering. On top of the desk, at its front, was a rack of several pidgeon holes where he kept books for customers who bought on credit. Each pidgeon hole contained a book like those seen for years in many restaurants where waitresses used them to write your order. The books contained a series of two part checks and a carbon paper flap. Whenever you bought something on credit, Mr DeHart would write down each item, its price and the total; then he would add that to the running total of what you owed and give you one of the sheets. You always knew your balance and there was no interest. When Mr DeHart felt that your balance was too high or you hadn't paid anything for a while, he would speak to you about it and only allow you to have items he considered to be essential.

The floor was wooden and the walls were lined with shelves to the ceiling and full of food and household supplies. At the back was a small cold case for meat with a few items displayed in it. Most of the time, you told Mr DeHart the things you wanted and he would get them for you. To reach the items on the upper shelves, he had a device that was like a broom handle with a grabber on one end and a squeezer, with which he could operate the grabber, on the other. He would then write up your check before bagging you groceries. Many people had their own cord, cloth or what-have-you bags to carry their groceries.

To the right of the meat case was a door to the DeHart kitchen. Just inside the kitchen, to the right, was a door to the outside and steps to the ground. If you really needed something and the store was closed, you could go to that, knock and ask if you could get what you needed; Mr DeHart would help you that way. There were stairs leading from the kitchen to the second floor where the DeHarts lived. There was a Mrs DeHart and a grown daughter, Minnie, who helped in the store. At some point in the late 1940s or early 1950s, Minnie married one of my mother's brothers, becoming my aunt. I believe it was Garland.

Leila Roberts' was the newer of the two and was situated across the road from the Dallas side of the grade school. It was a rather small store run by a woman who seemed to be about my mother's age. This is where we first bought a cereal still in existence today, General Mills' Kix, the very first puffed cereal made by exploding little balls of dough (Quaker already had puffed grains). Inside the box were three heavily waxed containers similar to those used today for milk except that the top was flat and there were lines to indicate where you could cut off one of the corners. The waxed containers were meant to keep the Kix dry and fresh longer because, when you opened a container, only one third of the cereal in the box was suceptible to moisture absorption. I liked Kix because it was crunchy and not rock hard.

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