ATHENS — When Earland and Freda Rowell closed Rowell’s General Store in Athens in 1999, it marked the end of an era.
It was the end of a time when families could charge groceries at the store or get cash advances on crops or income tax refunds to help make ends meet, and kids could get a handful of penny candy for free.
Earland Rowell died at age 89 in 2007. Freda Rowell, 93, died Sunday in a Lewiston hospital with family members close by.
“She died like she lived – quiet, happy and spoke softly,” said Freda’s daughter, Dianne Corson, 68. “She was ‘with it’ every second until maybe 5 p.m. Sunday. The doctors and staff had conversations with us and her, right up until the last 15 minutes.”
Freda loved her community and found many ways to convey that love, granddaughter Jessica Franzose said.
“There will never be another person like her,” she said.
Earland Rowell and Freda Hayden were married in August 1945 and got down to the business of selling groceries and other necessities from their pickup truck to rural farms and homesteads from Wellington to Canaan and back to West Athens village. They eventually parked the truck and began selling groceries from a fixed location in 1972 in a 30-by-30-foot shop just outside Athens village.
The shelves at Rowell’s General Store held everything from boats and boots, long johns, TV sets, roller skates, rope, shotguns and ammunition to wristwatches, hurricane lamps, fish hooks and groceries.
In 1956, Freda and Earland took over Harold Batcher’s grocery route, eventually moved into their store in 1972 and operated it until 1999.
“They would buy things off of people that they didn’t really need to help them out,” Athens farmer and Selectman Guy Anton remembered after Earland Rowell died. “They would give families aspirin or Tylenol and cough medicine or extra food to help them out.”
Corson said the general store meant a lot of things to her parents, the word “general” having the most meaning to them and to their community.
“You would not believe the slips that we had behind the counter because Daddy never said ‘no,’ ” she said. “They would postdate checks, and come the next week, someone would say, ‘All I can give you is $10, but I really need $30 because I really need to get this prescription filled,’ and he’d give them cash.”
“When we say the word ‘general,’ it means ‘bank,’ it means ‘pawn shop,’ it means ‘groceries,’ it means ‘counseling,’ it means ‘a hot meal.’ “
Scott Mitchell, principal at Madison Elementary School, who was principal at the Athens school in the 1990s, said the Rowells were a cornerstone of the Athens community.
“The school was very important to them,” Mitchell said. “I remember getting many calls asking about any upcoming events, field trips that they could help with. They were constantly donating time and money to our school. On a personal note, I would make it a point to go to Rowell’s General Store when I needed something and I always felt as if I had gone back in time – a much simpler, safer time. The Rowells were hardworking honest folks.”
Doug Harlow can be contacted at 612-2367 or at:
dharlow@centralmaine.com
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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