Some communities have unique structures that often “catch the eye.” One such landmark is a native rock building called the Midway Store. It is appropriately named because it is situated about half way between Meridian and Cranfills Gap on Highway 22. The abandoned store isn’t really all that old, but it is an important landmark in the Spring Creek community.

The small sliver of land along Highway 22 where the store is located has an interesting history. Before Bosque County was established in 1854, this part of Texas was in Milam County. The 7.3 acres where the store is situated is out of the 426-acre Hugh Pannell Survey of 1846.

In 1849 the property was sold to Harry J. Johnson. Johnson sold the property to Henry Fossett in 1877. Johnson also sold acreage to Lars and Lucas Mickelson that same year. In 1885, Lucas Mickelson sold his holdings to brother Lars. The property then went to the Mickelson estate for many years. After several years of family bickering and legal actions the estate was eventually sold to Martin J. Mickelson and Ole C. Anderson in 1920. In 1921, Ole C. Anderson sold his interest of 65-1/3 acres to Martin Mickelson. Shortly afterwards Martin J. Mickelson sold his land interests to C.A. Mickelson in April of 1921. Mickelson set up the first store in what is referred to as the “big house,” the house where Georgia Gustafson currently lives. He sold groceries out of the kitchen. Leonard Sorenson helped out in the store at this time. Before Highway 22 was built in 1932, the old road passed behind, or north, of the present day store and Gustafson house. Sometime between 1921 and 1931, C.A. Mickelson sold out to Tom C. Parks, owner of the Parks Ranch. It was Tom Parks who deeded land to the state for the Highway 22 right-of-way in 1932.

In 1933, Tom Parks sold a small tract of land to Alma Swenson, widow of J.B. Swenson. Alma was Tom Parks’s sister-in-law. Barney and his wife Frances lived with Alma in the big house until their little house east of the store was built. Barney probably began building the store about this time. The little house had three-rooms with a bath and it was located a few feet east of where the store stands.

In 1935, Barney Swenson contracted with O.E. Schow & Company of Clifton to build another house (5-room house with bath) east of the little house. The cost of the house was $1,131.00. The schedule of payments was $18.89 a month and was to be paid off in 1940. The Farmer’s State Bank of Clifton financed the house construction. At sometime between 1935 and 1939 Perry Clipper acquired the note for the house. Perry Clipper eventually ended up with the house and had it moved. The concrete foundation of the house is all that’s left at the site.

There is no documentation as to the exact year the Midway Store was built, but Otha Lee, an old timer in the area, remembers that Jim Ben Majors did the masonry and rockwork. Ole C. Anderson did the carpentry work. It is believed he also help build the little house.

 Spring Creek citizens voted at the newly constructed Midway Store before it opened for business. It is reported that Vacation Bible School was also held in the store before opening. In later years, the citizens of Spring Creek voted at Burton and Georgia’s home. Lyman Swenson was the election judge for the Spring Creek area and Georgia recalled, “He had a card table with a checkerboard printed on the top. While sitting and keeping the polls open on Election Day we would play checkers to pass the time. Lyman didn’t have any checkers so he went over to the store and got coke caps and we used them for checkers. He beat me every game.”

Back in the 1930’s, Burton Anderson, of Mustang, had a team and wagon. During harvest time he hauled bundles to the thresher. He’d work all day in the hot sun and as soon as they finished threshing for the day he would head his team toward Swenson’s Store as fast as he could for cold beer. He wouldn’t be alone when he got there since Swenson’s was a common “watering hole” for thresher hands. ⁽¹⁰⁾

Barney operated the store during the day, and at night he operated a dance pavilion, which was located between the store and the big house. Times were difficult and the dance hall was a way to make extra money. As the dance hall established itself it was known as “ Barney Swenson’s.” Barney’s establishment was the place to go to drink beer and dance. It was also known for the fights that occurred there. It was during the depression years and Roosevelt’s “New Deal” established the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). The local boys referred to the members of the CCC as the “tree army boys” who came from all across the country to build Meridian State Park. The locals did not appreciate the tree army boys because they tried to “horn in” on the girls. It was not uncommon for the beer, dancing, and a bit of jealousy to touch off a good old fashion fistfight between some local and a tree army boy.

The Midway Store was called “Swenson’s” as long as Barney Swenson was the owner. He sold ice, cold drinks, candy, sugar, salt, flour, bread and an assortment of canned goods and other necessary items. The store was a popular place to “stop and visit.” The store had a “filling station.” Gasoline, kerosene and oil were available. The restroom was a wooden privy out behind the store. Remnants of an old galvanized ice drink cooler can be seen out behind the store even today. Electricity modernized homes and businesses when the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) brought electrical service to rural areas toward the end of the 1930’s.Electricity didn’t reach this area until 1946. Georgia Beth remembers that Coin Tergerson was working for the REA when they first opened the store. Coin would eat his lunch at the store while working in the area. In time, the old icebox would be replaced by modern equipment.

Barney Swenson operated the store until he sold the store, the little house and a strip of land to Burton Gustafson in December of 1944. Shortly after buying the place from the Swenson’s, Burton left for the Army where he served on Okinawa While he was away, Burton’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Gustafson, lived in the little house east of the store. After Burton’s discharge from the Army, he married Georgia Beth Anderson. They soon moved to the little house where they lived with Burton’s parents. He opened the store on October 4, 1946. ⁽¹⁾

Burton worked hard to build a business that would support his family and meet the needs of his patrons. In time the Midway Store had ice cream, cold drinks, candy and other things the traveling public might want. Because Highway 22 had been widened in 1932, there was a good deal of traffic. The Midway Store also sold ice, bacon, ham, cheese, bread, milk, fruits, and an assortment of groceries and of course many farmers bought their Bull Durham or Prince Albert smoking tobacco at the store. The store also sold feed and seed to local farmers. The feed and seed were stored in the rooms on the right of the store’s main entrance. Burton’s store had two Conoco gas pumps and water, oil, and air for cars. The first pumps used at the store were the old fashioned “visible pumps” but later on they were replaced with electric pumps. This little country store served highway travelers and the people of Spring Creek, Mustang, and Harmony very well for many years.

Burton and Georgia moved from the little house to the larger house in 1948 when Alma Swenson moved to Clifton. During the years when Burton ran the store the cold drink box was located outside by the front door. It was never locked. It wasn’t uncommon for local teenagers on their way home from the movie in Meridian to stop and get a cold soda pop. They would leave money for the drinks in the mailbox or on top of the coca cola box. As far as Burton and Georgia knew they never lost money on the after hours drink transactions. Mary Nell Witte, Marcus Jermstad, and Larry Mickelson are but a few who did business at the coke box late at night. Georgia Beth noted there were other regulars at the store.

There was an old table at the back of the store. Burton would slice up some cheese, lunchmeat and an onion. He’d come to the house and get fresh baked homemade bread, if I had some, and take it back to the store. Shortly, in would come Jim Hutcheson, his dad, a fellow named Barron and old Ned Cooper. They would come to the store and eat dinner with Burton when they were working cattle on nearby ranches. They would sit on apple boxes around that old table. Burton used the same table when he candled eggs he bought from area farmers. ⁽¹⁾

Barbara Wallace Epley said the Midway Store had the best bacon in the county^{. (4)} Marcus Jermstad said he and his dad, Check Jermstad, once stopped at the store to get some bacon and other things. As Burton was slicing the bacon he suddenly stopped. Check asked what the matter was. Burton said he couldn’t sell all of it because he wouldn’t have any for breakfast. ⁽⁵⁾

I remember stopping at the Midway Store on numerous occasions with my grandpa, Conrad Knudson. Just before we’d get there grandpa would say, “What color are you going to get?” I’d always get chocolate. Grandpa always got a “red one.” Burton had the best ice cream in the county. ⁽⁷⁾

The Gap School bus would make regular stops at the store for ice cream. Arnold Schibler, the bus driver, would make sure the kids without money would get an ice cream cone. When Almer Gustafson drove the bus, he would make ice cream stops as well. ⁽¹⁾

In the middle 1970’s, Burton needed to buy a car and money was really tight. He made a deal to sell the little house to Sam Jennings. Jennings hired Sam Oswald to move the house over to the old Mag Pederson place. Georgia Beth said she left for work at the sawmill in Clifton one day and when she came home after work that afternoon the house was gone. The concrete foundation (pictured on the right) is all that is left of the house. The Jennings used the house to add-on to the old Pederson house. Burton bought a Ford Torino. ⁽¹⁾

An incident occurred when Barney Swenson had the store; a car parked under the carport caught fire. It blazed up high enough to burn the ceiling joist. It got rather serious and looked like it might catch the store on fire. A woman working for Barney saw the flames and panicked. Thinking the store would burn down, she grabbed the cash register and threw it through the back window. Folks wondered how in the world she managed to lift that heavy register and were even more amazed that she could throw it through the window because she was such a small woman. Today, burned joists remind us of that incident. ⁽¹⁾

On at least two occasions’ delivery trucks with high loads attempted to drive under the store’s carport. Recent observation indicate the ceiling joists have definitely been abused and splintered but not broken. This sturdy structure has survived fire, physical damage and, the most damaging of all, the passage of time.

Georgia took me on a tour of the store and grounds. Behind the house stood an old wooden basketball goal Burton made for daughter Pat. She grew up here helping out at the store and always put in her share of work in the vegetable garden. A little closer to the store the old privy that served its purpose for a countless number of years is still standing. As I entered the store it was pretty much the way I remembered it. Over time, most of the fixtures and equipment have been removed, but if you have a good imagination you can, in your mind, return the ice cream box, coke box, meat slicer, the shelves of groceries, barrels, drink cases, and other familiar things to their rightful places in the store. I remember that it was fairly dark inside the store, especially toward the back. The old wood floors in the back of the store and the concrete floor in the front have echoed many footsteps of patrons over the years. There were still some old wooden apple crates along the wall and a few old cigar boxes on the shelf. Burton’s butcher table, made by him, was still there. The screen doors that advertised Rainbow Bread were missing. Georgia said someone took them several years ago. The gas pumps are gone now, but their mountings mark the spot where the pumps once stood. Georgia said the American Legion Hall in Clifton has Burton’s meat slicer. It is still in use today. We took a walk east of the store to the survey tree. This dead live oak tree stands majestically as a survey marker for the land surveyed in this area. Perhaps over a hundred years ago this huge oak served as a landmark for travelers passing through this area

Several years ago a produce man was parked under the store’s carport. While trying to put a tarp over his produce, he rammed a very large splinter into the top of his head. Apparently, Burton and Georgia were pretty good country doctors because after some pain and anxiety from the patient she used a pair of needle nose pliers to dig out the splinter and apply Campho-phenique to the wound. On another occasion a group of cedar cutters stopped by the store. A little boy had a thorn in his foot. He wouldn’t let anyone touch it. Burton gave the boy a sucker and after some calming dialog he removed the thorn with his pocketknife and cleaned the wound with Campho-phenique.

In order to bring in additional income Burton at one time bought and sold eggs from area farmers. He also sold cedar posts. I remember seeing cedar posts of all sizes stacked between the house and the store. He received and stored huge truckloads of cedar posts on consignment from the Ratliffs.

Burton and Georgia closed the store in 1975. They could no longer compete with the larger stores who bought groceries and supplies in large quantity. Wholesalers would no longer sell in small quantity. High competition along with a more mobile society helped to close many small “mom and pop” stores throughout the country. Burton and Georgia worked hard during some difficult times trying to keep the store in operation but the circumstances made it very difficult. The store ledger shows all purchases and sales over a number of years. He extended credit to people who were also having financial problems. His goodness and kindheartedness eventually contributed to the closing of the store. Over the years a number of customer’s unpaid bills and numerous “hot checks” finally brought about the store’s demise.

After the store closed in 1975, Burton retired while Georgia continued to work at Wilson Building Materials in Clifton. After Burton’s health began to fail he would sit on the porch, on the red bench he and Georgia built, and carve toy spinning tops from wooden thread spools. He was quite proficient in his woodcarving. Georgia has a box nearly full of toy tops he carved. Some people knew Burton as the man who sat on the porch and gave friendly waves to the folks as they drove past the house on Highway 22. Others knew him as the man who would dig out those dips of ice cream and stack them neatly on the cone. People who really knew him knew him as a friend who was kind and generous. Burton died on September 8, 1996. He is buried at the Rock Church Cemetery.

The following information was taken from the 1946 – 1948 Midway Store ledger. Georgia Gustafson made all of the entries. The entries were neatly written making them legible and easy to read. In examining the debits, credits and bank deposits it was obvious that Burton and Georgia saw some tough financial times while trying to keep the store in operation. Listed below are some of Burton’s regular suppliers.

Records show Burton bought eggs, produce and chickens from local farmers. Eggs were bought for 40-56 cents a dozen and sold for about the same. There was not much profit in the egg business. Several farmers sold chickens to the store between 1946 and 1948. Chickens were sold to the store for 20 cents a pound.

The following farmers provided chickens and/or eggs to Midway Store:

Most farmers in the area had bountiful gardens. Records also show that Charlie B. Allen, Ray Gibbons and Belford Colwick sold various garden produce to the Midway Store. These homegrown garden vegetables that were bought and sold at the Midway Store were some of the freshest and best you could buy. The vegetables, eggs, chickens, the cold drinks and ice cream cones are but memories today. Due to our society’s mobility, chain stores and shopping malls the small community stores that once dotted our nation have become memories that have passed into history.

                                                                                                                                                              J. Mark Wallace

                                                                                                                              December 2002