The Bedford Historical Society’s March program, New England’s General Stores: Exploring an American Classic, presented by Chronicle’s Ted Reinstein reflecting on a simpler time, is free and open to the public
The 2 pm program on Sunday, March 27, will take place in person in the Great Room on the third floor of Old Town Hall, the Historical Society’s new home, 16 South Road, Bedford, and virtually, via ZOOM. If you would like to receive the login information, please email the Historical Society at [email protected]
About New England’s General Stores
The general store, as old as America itself, harkens back to a simpler time and a more innocent and rural nation. It was a homey and familiar place where you could buy the paper, penny candy, four-penny nails, or simply tarry on a cold winter morning over a cup of hot coffee with a neighbor or two. Long before “Cheers,” the general store was the vital and inviting heart of a community, where everyone not only knew your name, but how you took that coffee, how many kids you had, and how’s your dad doing, anyway? Then came a more urbanized and more mobile America, the rise of the chain stores, and then their giant offshoots, the big boxes. General stores seemed doomed, and many were. But a funny thing happened on the way to extinction: a renaissance.
Co-authors Ted Reinstein and former ABC journalist Anne-Marie Dorning profile some of New England’s most beloved and longtime landmark stores, many of which have played out a real-life “Rocky,” rising up from the retail mat against seemingly overwhelming odds. It turns out that neighbors actually miss meeting up in the neighborhood. When it comes to a genuine gathering place, Costco doesn’t really cut it. But a general store still does. New England’s General Stores: Exploring an American Classic looks at how, where, and why this has all happened, by focusing on individual historic stores and their still-unfolding stories. (Globe Pequot Press. Hardcover, and accompanied by the full-color award-winning photography of Art Donahue. Available Sept. 2017).
Ted Reinstein will join us to talk about his experiences writing the book and visiting many still thriving general stores in New England. Reinstein is probably best known in New England as a journalist and reporter for “Chronicle,” Boston’s celebrated—and America’s longest-running, locally-produced—TV newsmagazine. While he appears occasionally in the studio at the anchor desk or delivering an opinion commentary, it’s out in the field where viewers are most familiar seeing Ted. From every corner of New England, he’s found the offbeat, the unique, the moving, and the just plain memorable, all while telling the enduringly colorful stories of the region’s people and place
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Bedford Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
Loading ...
