The neighborhood has warmly welcomed the reopening of the general store.
Many months of hard work and money have gone into the reopening of a North Pownal landmark, on the corner of Lawrence and Fickett roads. And if public response so far to the new North Pownal General Store is any indication, all that effort will be worthwhile for owner Jenni Haskell and her family.
Haskell and her parents, Ken and Kathy Haskell, moved from California to open the store, which probably dates back to around 1880, and had been closed for about a year and a half. The store is situated on a crossroads not too far from Pownal Center, Durham, New Gloucester or Auburn, and Haskell hopes to catch morning commuters coming from those directions.
Haskell opened the North Pownal General Store on the last weekend of May, and was impressed by the response.
“We had people coming in steadily the first day we opened,” she said. “We got here last August. We couldn’t take ownership until last November. We’ve done lots of renovations.”
The renovations include the upstairs, where Haskell and her parents will live until her parents build a home in New Gloucester. Jenni Haskell will remain.
The North Pownal General Store, open seven days a week, offers breakfast at 6 a.m., as well as pizza, sandwiches, homemade soups and pastries, chili and groceries. The full-service counter also features all sorts of hot and cold sandwiches, burgers and salads.
“I love to cook and bake, and it’s always been a dream,” Haskell said.
Haskell and her family are lifelong California residents. She was working in human relations at what she called a “mega church” in Bakersfield when her sister, Kelli Rogers, moved to New Gloucester, once her husband retired from the U.S. Navy.
“It was a long thought process,” Haskell said. “We all wanted to be together. The family was the most important thing.”
“We were thinking of moving there anyway,” Kathy Haskell said. “Then Kelli saw that (the store) was vacant.”
The Haskells purchased the property from Clarence Hansen.
As for cooking, they all pitch in.
“We might have to hire a couple more, because we’re so busy,” Kathy Haskell said.
Jenni Haskell said she appreciates the rural nature of North Pownal, and also the attractions that aren’t far away.
“We go hiking and we go kayaking, and there’s so many lakes,” she said. “And I’m close enough to go to Portland or Boston.”
Kathy Haskell appreciates the warm welcome to the neighborhood.
“What I feel good about is bringing something to the community,” she said. “We’re not looking to be millionaires. In this community, people are really supportive. We want people to have a place to come and meet. We’ve got a place for people to play volleyball and badminton in the back yard. We’re excited. We have a lot of traffic that goes by here in the morning. It’s busy at 6 o’clock.”
Donna Boyles, president of the Pownal Scenic and Historical Society, said that William Sawyer owned the store in its early days. The North Pownal Community Club, just yards away on Lawrence Road, also was a store in the old days.
“It likely dates to 1880 and it was a general store,” Boyles said. “It also served as a post office, as a barber shop and a harness mending shop. It also served as a center for news and notice posting, and a place to gather socially.”
The original North Pownal General Store sold groceries, dried fish, tinware, tobacco, candy, medicine, sewing supplies, articles of clothing and hardware. Boyles is glad to see the building back in use.
“It’s a very vital part of the Pownal community,” she said, “and I would have to say I’m happy the new owners have opened it. We’re hoping that they can make a go of it.”
Alan Bradstreet, who lives right across the road from the store, echoes Boyles’ sentiments.
“The place looks good,” Bradstreet said. “It’s clean and repaired inside, and the food is good. I think it’s wonderful for the neighborhood. It’s been a key business in the community. It’s been a general store most of its life.”
Jenni Haskell, left, gets plenty of help from her mother, Kathy Haskell, in running the North Pownal General Store, which reopened on May 30.Staff photo by Larry Grard
Ken Haskell replaces a light in front of the North Pownal General Store, at the intersection of Lawrence and Fickett roads. Haskell and his wife, Kathy, are helping their daughter, Jenni Haskell, who purchased the building and reopened the store on the last weekend in May. Staff photo by Larry Grard
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