Ledgercase

The Finer Things in Life: Saving for the General Store

A hard working farm wife might go to the general store to buy a beautiful Paisley shawl from India, or an elegant ivory fan from France or China. These items were used for Sunday best or a special occasion. An expensive item like the ivory and silk fan shown in the case before you would have been cherished and handed down from mother to daughter to granddaughter, eventually making its way into a museum collection. Life was difficult for Michigan's early settlers, most made their living on the farm--it was backbreaking work. They worked hard to have the comforts of home, and when they could afford it, they often allowed themselves to buy some of the finer things in life--special things that they couldn't make themselves. Take a look in the cases on the wall before you leave. All of these items could have been purchased at the GossĀ & Darling general store in Kalamazoo in 1848. If you were a settler, which of the items would you save your money to buy?

Kalamazoo Direct to You - Highlights
  1. Checker Cab
  2. Smelting Pot
  3. Gibson Guitars
  4. Homer Stryker and his Revolutionary Bed
  5. Upjohn's Pills
  6. A. M. Todd
  7. People of the Three Fires
  8. The General Store
  9. New Settlers to Kalamazoo: The Importance of the General Store
  10. Something for Everyone at the General Store
  11. The Finer Things in Life: Saving for the General Store
  12. Hub of Information: The General Store
  13. 1848 General Store Ledger
  14. Farm Life 1860-1940
  15. Entertainment 1860-1920
  16. "Wash Day"
  17. Food Preparation 1870-1930
  18. Squirrel Tailed Pumper
  19. The Kalamazoo Mall
  20. Victor Gruen: The Man with a Plan
  21. Dreams We Shared
  22. The 1980 Kalamazoo Tornado
  23. Lincoln's Speech
  24. Mystery of the Mummy