Ike Godsey

Joe Conley who played storekeeper Ike Godsey on The Waltons has recently passed. I never appreciated the show as a kid when it ran in the 1970's but have liked most of it (not the last few seasons) catching it in reruns a few years ago. I can not really criticize the local shop owners I remember as a kid (in the 1970's) but maybe somebody has some stories to share when Americans were far more dependent on the small general store versus the big box stores of today.

When I moved here to Kirksville Indiana (pop maybe 30 or 40) in 1978, we had Moods General Store ran by Merrit Mood the Township Trustee who lived in the adjoining house. It was complete with a liars bench and where I first learned about my new community and met many of the folks.

As a kid in North Madison, Indiana in the fifties my granfather took me to Bumens General Store where he bought me Nehi orange pop for ten cents as I recall.

Lots of fond memories of them Old Country Stores. I think in those days in Indiana it was Hulmans from Terre Haute (Tony Hulman Indy 500) who delivered to most all those stores. Right before ours went out the owner told me it was cheaper at Sams or Wal Mart then what he was paying for groceries, no wonder he went broke.....

John T

Just my 2 cents worth here... When I was a kid and we went in to the local community get almost anything country store they actually were glad you came in. They would have something to say that usually started with a genuine "Hello" not some of these mandated no emotion hello's you get these days if you get any response from the employee at all. Most act as you are an imposing on there texting and/or whatever they are doing not related to there job. Also, the old country store would try to find what you needed and order it if it was not in stock. Now if it is not in the computer it does not exist. Especially in the auto parts stores. I also fondly remember eating that good cheddar cheese and thick sliced bologna with crackers and catching up on the local news and gossip.

Only thing that comes to mind is the one we had down the road, they were a real general store, carried such an array of goods from hand tools like Union Fork and Hoe, goods that could be used around the home, the farm, barns, some groceries, place was packed with inventory and besides all the numerous hardware stores, these were the places you shopped. In nearby Troy, there was blocks and blocks of retailers downtown, you got your new shoes, and or shoes repaired there, garments, clothing, the local army/navy store,carried Dickies, and similar, I still shopped there out of high school, you could find most anything you wanted. We had suppliers, industry, you needed a belt for the thrower on the baler, Troy Belting had a huge catalog going back a long time. One of the most interesting catalogs I have is from the 50's I think, RB Wing in Albany, all good quality american made goods, industrial, construction, hardware etc. We had local department stores not big chains, there was a Woolworth, its incredible, that literally none of this exists today and you are always careful with your money, with quantity, quality and so on.

I guess thats what I recall the most, and I believe a lot of this was connected to the industry and the remnants of the industrial revolution, things started going down hill in the 70's, very slowly. Progress.... LOL !

The Waltons represented a large self sufficient family, in a rural setting, in a long gone era, there was a lot to appreciate, but also quite a bit to be desired, I suppose its how a person prefers to live, the quiet rural life, good neighbors and friends, a simple life, going to town was a big deal. My grand parents place was similar, the house was connected to the old country store, which was also an old post office. The name of the store was Sykes, rhymes with Ikes! LOL !


I'll include some photos of that, I last visited there in '07, my cousins/aunt sold it, and it sat for years, tin roof, stable, but the demo'd it shortly after so I took a bunch of photos, it was sad, but most of the places I lived or grew up in are no longer there. The store was on the right, the large breezeway between the store and the house was the kitchen and a large one at that, the left was the house, it was like 2 houses connected, nice patio and porches, it did not look like this when we lived here, should have been renovated, tin roof, like a barn, was last painted in '83, no leaks, stone foundation and the best/cold spring water you could have came out of that well. If you look on that green door, there was some ornamental cast piece on there, you can see its gone, and that door was exactly the same when I lived there. Now the rural life also invites some real strange, odd, and somtimes bad people, my mother had someone try to break down the door while she was alone, but with a browning gold trigger 12 GA, my dad arrived just in time to chase him off and fire a few shots at him, he had just been back from the army, 7th special forces, between him and my granddad, this guy would not have had a chance if they got him. State police arrived soon after, never caught him. A kid I rode the bus with was found mutilated and sexually abused, a rotting corpse, to this day they never found him, he disappeared from his summer job at the strawberry farm, was found weeks later. You are smart to carry a weapon and not put yourself in any bad situation in these parts, because in those woods bad things happen, I found a satanic worship area not far from the road behind a church, trees painted red, a dummy hanging, weird mumbo jumbo written in paint on the trees, words just can't describe it, someone was watching me too, they were throwing something, I could hear it land, I escaped, got across the road, to the house, grabbed the shotgun and flanked them from the east, but never caught up to them, its a simple life alright, but there are bad apples everywhere. This was West Stephentown NY.

john ,that kinda puts me to mind of Zabels hdw. in Lanesville Ind ,, when I was a kid Julies Zabel sold parts for J Deere and Moline equipment , ,, his home and kitchen was in the same building ,, his wife would call out and say ,, he's havin dinner and will be out in a bit ,unless you are in a hurry ,just have a seat ,, times dad and I would stop by at lunchtime ,, and get in invited back for a slab of pie ..they had everything there ,,between the bulletin bd at the hdware and at the feed mill ,,and all conversation with all the folx, there waslittle need for a newspaper

You sure it wasn't Nehi Grape soda and Nesbitts orange?

here is one that was saved that was built in 1935

Nehi and Nesbitts both made various flavors of soda. I can remember drinking various flavors of both.

We were all more of a "community" then, and the local store was an integral part of it. We're all familiar with the store "carrying" people over a rough patch, but sometimes it went beyond that.

When I was about 6, we had a pounding on the door at about 2 in the morning. It was the 14 year old neighbor girl- "Dad's drunk again- he's after me, and this time he's not taking 'no' for an answer."

She said she had an aunt in California she could go to. While mom found some of my sister's clothes that would fit her, dad called the gas station/store a couple miles away, that was also a Greyhound bus stop. We took her over there, to catch a bus. Mom and Mrs. store owner went around and took stuff off the shelves that she could eat on the bus, and I think dad and Mr. store owner split the price of the bus ticket. They put her up for the rest of the night (they lived in the back), and got her on the bus in the AM. We never heard from her again.

Somehow, I don't see that happening today at the local convenience store.

My grand father owned a country store from 1928 until his death in 1963. He carried many families through the depression. He was in a little settlement of Water valley TN approx. 17 miles from the county seat of Columbia. He had a full line of goods including shoes, clothing, hardware, Oliver farm machinery, Harvey farm equipment, tires, gas and oil. He had a tire repair set up plus an ice house. He opened at 5:30 a.m. and closed after 9:00 p.m. He was one of the first to get a television in the community. Most of the men in the community would come on Saturday night to watch wrestling. since my grandparents lived in the back the wives would visit with my grandmother. Those were certainly fun times. He was a well respected man in the community. Have you ever candled eggs or eaten watermelon cooled in an ice house?

No But they did make a good movie about that . It was called " NATURAL BORN KILLERS" Pretty good flick.

Surely a memory of 60 years ago wouldnt be in error now lol Seems like it was Nehi orange however??

John T

The stines corner hotel/ store/ bar/ post office,I remeber when it was open,probably closed somewheres around 1970.,but this is a fairly current picture of it

Well,..we do have a somewhat modern day country store here in Hesperia,Michigan. It is the "Old Local Hardware Store." The store has been in the same family since the 1940"s. They do have a little bit of everything in there for sale. Lots of old items you cannot find anymore. Really neat to just go in and look around at all the "stuff".

I don't get too nostalgic about the old country stores the one close to me was run by a crook that'd cheat anyone he could especially those poorer folks that had no car to travel to town.He'd do things like add things they didn't get to the ticket and sell poor quality things for exhorbant prices.Gotten a few candy bars there as a kid with worms in them etc etc.And don't take the Walton's show too seriously I know that area really well and a lot of people that lived there back then and they pretty much laugh at how unrealistic the show was.Guess Old Hamner remember things how they never were.The old man never had a sawmill he reportably sold slab wood when he was a little sober.
I say thank God for Walmart,TSC and Sheetz

I grew up literally on the NY/PA border. Was a general store about 5 miles away on the Pa side. They bought my muskrat, and coon pelts. In reality they traded me for .22 shells, candy, soda,(our local was Fawn),and once in a while I would get a tin of white gas for my lantern. It was a good bike ride down a one lane dirt road.
Since frackin has come in that road is a wide chip and seal with new bridges. Store is long gone.

A few miles across the way from Zabel's was Winterkorn's Store, in beautiful downtown New Middletown, IN. My great-grandfather, Henry Winterkorn, started the store in his 20's or thereabout. He died in 1964 at 91 in the house next to the store.

There were a couple of other stores in New Middletown--hard to believe in a town that small--and competition was tough. Complicating that, Winterkorn's store was in the middle of the block, not at the crossroads a block away. But he WAS next door to Ranger Hall, where the New Middletown Rangers played basketball. Grandpa Winterkorn had a Model T huckster truck, and he'd travel around the countryside, either selling his wares on hand or ordering the stuff he didn't have on the truck. He had lettering on the front of the truck that said "HERE COMES WINTERKORN" and lettering on the back that said "THERE GOES WINTERKORN."

When I was a kid, Grandpa Winterkorn was long retired, and his youngest son, Fred, ran the store. Between the store and the house, in an area about the size of an oversized broom closet, was the New Middletown Post Office. Uncle Fred's wife, Elizabeth, was the postmaster. [Uncle Fred was the assistant postmaster and mail clerk.]

As I recall, Uncle Fred closed the store in about 1961 or '62. By then, he said the local grocery store could sell a box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes cheaper than he could buy them.

I have a photo of the truck taken during the WWI era...when I get time, I'll post it.

And Barqs also had multiple flavors, not just root beer like now.

I remember going with my mother to the A&P when I was a little kid. It was the "big" store in town, probably 30x40 and it had oiled wood floors. Then when I was probably about twelve, they opened "Food Town". It was independent, flashy, modern, with electric doors, and electric belts at both checkout counters. That store was probably 40x50. That store went out of business around 1985 when a modern store that was probably 4,000 feet opened. An old timer that operated the old time garage would not believe it when I told him that the new store was 1/3 the size of the stores down state.

My Grandparents ran a grocery store, feed store, gas station and post office (all in two buildings) in the 50's, 60's and early 70's.

My early years, I was raised in this store. Pot belly stove for heat and outhouse out back.

My grandmother was the Post Mistress for the Post Office located in the store. I slept on canvas post bags after school. The Gordons delivery man was my favorite weekly arrival. He would give me a Gordons ballon.

Here are some pics of my grand parents Postal Front and the Gordons glass container that held candy. Also, I have the safe that they kept all the secure mail and money in.

My great-grandfather, Henry Winterkorn, with his huckster truck. He was taking "sewing ladies" to New Albany, Indiana to buy materials to make shirts during WWI, according to the info with the photo. Notice the advertising sign, "Use Zabel's Star Flour," as well as the "HERE COMES WINTERKORN sign.

That's Grandpa Winterkorn on the far right.

Like you I never really appreciated the show as a kid, although the family always watched it on Thurs. nights, often with one of us sitting by the TV holding the UHF loop to make the reception just a tad less fuzzy (Cable didn't show up for a few years, and then it was even longer before it hit the "sticks" on the NY/Pa border!) But now I simply cannot get enough of the show, the sense of family, and the history woven into the story lines is amazing. The only ones I'm not real fond of are the ones with the new John Boy. I think it should be required viewing prior to being allowed to run for any US office, as it gives you a sense of America, what it was and what it could/should be despite what your radical handlers teach you as new immigrant and prospective Senator/Presidential candidiate!

Hated that show, still do.

Thanxfor postin BUZZMAN ,,, Bet you are related to nearly Everyone in Harrison Co then,, LOL ,..other post mentioned pelts ,,, smittys is only place I recall to take themj , but I bet winterkorns and zabels trafficked them ,,.and ike godsey ,,. rip

Liked the show then and still watch it some now. The more I look back on it the less I think it represents the period correctly.

Still have Pearcy's Store here in middle TN. Great place. You can walk in and say I need one of "these" and 9 out of 10 times they have it.

(quoted from post at 17:10:56 07/11/13) Liked the show then and still watch it some now. The more I look back on it the less I think it represents the period correctly.

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I think The Waltons is about as accurate a portrayal of real life in the Depression as Andy Griffith is of police work in the rural south in the 60's.

Yeah, between the Winterkorns on Mom's side of the family, and the Rothrocks on Dad's side of the family...I'm probably related to 70% of the "old guard" families in the county.