alafarmnews

Decades of Collecting Fulfilled
In Jinright’s Country Store

By Jaine Treadwell

Thomas Wolfe said you can’t go home again.

He wouldn’t have said that if he had known Benny Jinright.

Every afternoon, Jinright walks out the back door of his house in rural Pike County and down the slope and, in that short time, he is home again.

Benny Jinright invites visitors to step inside and back into the world of yesteryear, when times were slow and there was nothing better to do than wile away time with a soda water and the company of good friends.

Benny Jinright’s old country store is a fascinating replica of the stores of old, complete with front porch with rocking chairs and a shiny, bright Shell Oil gravity gas pump.

Just when his fascination with old country stores began, Jinright is not sure. More likely, it was when he was a boy and visited country stores with his grandpa and stood gazing dreamily into those old display cases with wavy glass and polished wood.

But then it could have been when his wife Susan got bitten by the "junk bug" and exposed him to the fever.

But no matter when the fascination began, it overtook him more than 30 years ago and reached a fevered pitch before he finally got it "under control." Jinright’s interest in memorabilia or collectibles or junk has changed over the years but now it has stalled and that suits him just fine.

"When I first got interested in old things, I collected bottles," Jinright said. "I got tired of that and then I started to collect pocket watches. I got tired of that and just jumped from one thing to another."

Over the years, the antique market had been a roller coaster ride for collectors, up and down and around and around. For a while, oak was the going thing. Then it was mahogany, then Depression glass and then "fine" glass and then this and then that.

"But there was one thing that remained constant and that was commercial advertising," Jinright said.

Old commercial advertising that was once trash had become treasure and its value continued to climb while its availability sharply declined.

But, fortunately Jinright had bought into old advertising "stuff" when it was still "junk" and he had quite a junk collection turned antique.

A shiny, bright Shell Oil gravity gas pump helps light the way to Jinright’s old country store.

With his antique junk raising the rafters of his house, he had to find some way to get his "stuff" out of the house but still hang on to it all.

What if he built an old country store that would be the perfect display place for old stuff? Jinright decided there was no better way, so he went first to the tool shed and then to work.

He didn’t need an architect’s blueprint for the old country store he planned to build. He had the plan in his head. It had been there since he was a young boy. He built the store in much the same design as the one "stored" in his memory.

"Actually, my store is more of a general store than it is a country store," Jinright said. "A country store was stocked with the basic needs of a family but a general store carried just about anything a person would need or want. That’s what I’ve got here."

Jinright’s old country store is a fascinating replica of the stores of old, complete with front porch with rocking chairs and a shiny, bright Shell Oil gravity gas pump.

And those who step inside step back into the world of yesteryear, when times were slow and there was nothing better to do than wile away time with a soda water and the company of good friends.

This trade stimulator was probably an early version of the slot machine. You’d put in a penny and pull the lever and the dials would start to spin. If all three stopped on the same picture, you would get a 15-cent pack of cigarettes.

"Susan and I spend a lot of time at our general store, just sitting on the porch together or with family and friends who enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of an old country store," Jinright said. "We have visitors from time to time and, as soon as they walk through the door, I can see by the expression in their eyes what they think.

"There are a lot of people who really appreciate what I’ve done, some who don’t care one thing about old stuff and some who are just indifferent to it. What’s interesting is it’s the much older generation and the younger people who really seem to ‘get it.’"

Jinright’s collection dates back as far as the 1850s but mostly its starting point is around 1890.

After three decades of collecting, it might seem Jinright has everything he wants but he’s still adding things.

"Sometimes I get rid of one thing to get something else to update the collection," he said. "But it’s hard to find things now and, when you do find something you want, it has a hefty price. And, too, a lot of collectors are like me. You want to hold on to what you have unless that ‘much wanted’ item comes along. Then you can do some horse trading."

And, then there are items that can’t be wrangled away from a collector with a team of horses.

Jinright’s face spread into a big ol’ grin, when he talked about his most recent addition to his collection, a Skippy Roadster Deluxe, a rare child’s pedal car.

He wouldn’t say what he has been offered for the car, except to say it was an offer hard to turn down.

"There only a few of those roadsters around so I’d rather have it than the money," he said.

There are some other things in Jinright’s collection that he wouldn’t sell or trade for all the tea in China. Then there are other things that are good trading items.

"See this old medicine bottle," he said. "I paid 50 cents for it. Now it would bring $25 or more. That’s a pretty good return on an investment.

"This Whistle bottle and stand is worth at least $400. It’s just amazing what these advertising pieces will bring."

"This trade stimulator was probably an early version of the slot machine," Jinright said. "You’d put in a penny and pull the lever and the dials started to spin. If all three stopped on the same picture, you would get a 15-cent pack of cigarettes."

If there’s anything an old general store carried that Jinright doesn’t "carry," then it’s probably among the rarest of rare items.

Some of the items Jinright got at bargain prices. Others he emptied his pockets to get. Some things, like an April 15, 1865, edition of the New York Herald telling of the death of President Lincoln, were given to him.

"People knew I was collecting old things so they would give me things they didn’t need or want," he said. "It just all started to pile up. But if I had not started when I did, three decades ago, I wouldn’t be able to have all of this. I couldn’t afford it.

"I’m just lucky I got in when I did."

Lucky or smart?

Jinright shrugged and smiled, "Lucky."

Jinright’s not doing much buying now. He’s more into the trading if he can find something he wants more than something he’s got. Otherwise, he just sits on the porch and enjoys the peace and comfort that comes from owning an old country store. And he takes great pleasure in knowing that every day he can go home again.

Jaine Treadwell is a freelance writer from Brundidge.