There was only one grocery store in this little town where I spent most of my adult life. As in all small towns in their beginnings, the roads were dirt, everyone knew everyone else, there were feuds and there were communal gatherings. Most people got up early back then. We didn’t have internet or TV or cell phones. The store was a place for congregating, and there were always gatherings of people, shopping, visiting, or playing horseshoes in a space between the store and the blacksmith’s shop. Tournament scores were etched in pencil on the side of the building.
So, in the mornings or in the afternoons after work, the men would gather at the old country store for a good game of horseshoes, or to gossip over a cup of coffee. The little store had a big wood burning stove in the middle and whether winter or summer, always had a fire in its belly, and coffee, soup or chili on the surface. There were buckets of roasted peanuts and whoever was hungry ate. When watermelons were in season, they were stacked just to the side of the porch. They cost five to ten cents each, but if a person was hungry and didn’t have any money, the owner would break a melon open for everyone to share. It was just like that here – no one went hungry, especially the children.
The men brought their own horseshoe, and together, they had a game. Most of the time, it was friendly, but every now and then, there would be some ornery old cuss who just didn’t take to losing well.
The game of horseshoes has its roots in ancient cultures and is believed to be a descendant from the Greek game of discus throwing dating back to the second century. The early game of discus consisted of a disc being thrown at a stake. The horseshoes of that time were round with a hole in the middle, resembling the discus. Since the poorer people could not afford a discus, they used cast-off horseshoes instead for their games.
It is a common belief that the game of horseshoes was brought to the States by early settlers using discarded mule shoes. The game evolved and increased in popularity and the first world championship of horseshoe pitching took place in Bronson, Kansas in 1910.
Horseshoes is still alive and well with an estimated 10 million players a year. The rules have changed, but still played much the same way, as it was hundreds of years ago.
The old store has long since been torn down, replaced by a more ‘modern’ market. And you can be assured that there is no pot-bellied stove with food to feed those who are hungry in its midst.
The place where the old-timers played their games has been paved and there is no evidence of times gone by, but horseshoes is still played in the area in backyards and fields and there are lots of other games both indoor and outdoor we can still play.
However, there are occasions when I go to the location of the old store, I could swear I can still hear the ‘clank’ of horseshoes hitting the metal stake or thumping the ground, and the laughter of old men of another time and era.
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This article was written by Safe Home Sue for Safe Home Products, Inc.® Safe Home Products is a growing e-commerce reseller of consumer products that improve safety, security, health and quality of life. Established in 1999 as a woman-owned business and has served over 100,000 clients worldwide from its customer service and fulfillment headquarters in Iowa City, Iowa. Safe Home Products offers over 10,000 products including carbon monoxide and radon detectors, emergency preparedness equipment, environmentally friendly cleaning supplies, pet products, pest control solutions, and home medical equipment. Safe Home Products ships to all 50 states and U.S. territories and to most countries.
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