The Dam Store
In today’s post I’d like to write about my photograph of the Dam Store taken in Northern Alabama, not far from Wheeler Dam.
This old store, covered in spider webs, was once a busy gas station and an after work stop along the highway. The store took its name from Wheeler Dam which is located nearby.
Before the days of franchised businesses, people filled up their cars and trucks at the gas pumps at small neighborhood stores such as this one, often picking up a loaf of bread or pack of cigarettes on their way home from work. This particular store made it to the credit card era as evidenced by the signs on the door but couldn’t compete with the bigger, more modern stores down the road. The Dam Store is now permanently closed.
Seeing this closed store and thinking about why it closed when it served an important service makes me a little sad. I either see or read about small Mom & Pop businesses closing or going out of business quite often.
But then I open a social media platform and notice how many small, family or personally owned businesses are now operating and marketing their goods and services online.
Entrepreneurship is still alive, maybe more now than ever. That’s a hopeful and encouraging thought, isn’t it?
