"Ehrhardt Five and Dime" Supplemental Information
Written by Woodward to supplement his 2015 interview with Saddler Taylor and Tom Davenport.
While shooting my documentary titled "Barbecue and Homecooking" for the SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism and for it's SC National Heritage Corridor, I ran across a gentleman in Ehrhardt, SC who was the proprietor of a 100 year-old five and dime store that had served as the general store for the village of Ehrhardt under the management of his father, who established the store in the early 1900's. The store was very quirky, as was the proprietor, and attracted regular customers as well as visitors to Ehrhardt who were destination tourists traveling the path of the SC Heritage Corridor.
I met the owner while shooting footage at Rachel's Homecooking Restaurant in Ehrhardt, and he invited me to come to his store, sharing its history with me and the history of the "haberdashery" he managed across the street from the five and dime general store. I walked into the store with camera rolling and immediately the owner began a dialogue with me that carried me on a tour of the store, with stories about the unusual items he had on the shelves like 1950 braziers and 1940's toys and a miniature piano for children along with squeaky frogs and old games played by adults from the 1940's. The atmosphere that these items provided attracted curious visitors, and a mother and son who frequented these old stores came into the store while I was shooting. I worked these subjects into my documentary and captured the interplay between these folks and the owner in an amusing sequence that provides a window into the way that the proprietor promotes his store and captures the interest of visitors.
The short video celebrates the last of these old general stores and provides an amusing first-person experience for the viewer as they have the opportunity to experience the general store from the inside out.
