December 2005
Doc’s Country Store: A portal to the past

by Jaine Treadwell     Dr. R. S. Boothe is a veterinarian, cattle farmer and patron of Opps Co-op. Here he stands by a display of Anderson’s peanuts he got at the Co-op. For those familiar with old country stores, the muffled slamming of the "Colonial Bread" screen door jogs memories. But, the swinging door serves as a portal to the past for young folks. And that’s exactly the way "Doc" Boothe had planned it. "I wanted a place where older people could come to remember and relive the past and where young people could come to learn about the past and appreciate it," Dr. R.S. Boothe said, as he drummed his fingers on the old wood table in the back of Doc’s County Store. "Doc" scanned the old country store as if he were seeing it for the first time. "This is the culmination of a dream. A dream come true. This is just the way I wanted it." Doc’s Country Store is located on the Highway 331 Bypass in Opp where a steady stream of vehicles carry potential visitors to the "past." "Oh, we get all kinds of people in here," Boothe said. "We get a lot of beach traffic and a lot of them stop once and then they come back again. "There’s a lot to see here and we always welcome visitors." Boothe is a veterinarian and also a cattle farmer, and he might even be called a history buff or maybe a sentimentalist. "Yeah," he said with a smile. "This started with a log cabin that I got up on the Tennessee River in North Alabama. Actually, it was just a pile of logs that had to be put back together. I’ve always been intrigued with old stuff and the log cabin just really interested me." And so did it interest a lot of other folks who wanted to poke around in the past. Chief among them was Boothe’s dad, T.J. Boothe. "My dad is 84 years old and he never owned a garbage can," Boothe said, laughing. "He never threw anything away. He kept everything and it all means a lot to him. So, I decided that he needed a place where he could keep all that stuff."   “Doc” Boothe says that his old country store, located on the Highway 331 Bypass in Opp, is the culmination of dreams.   Boothe built what he calls "the family museum" and it’s jam packed with artifacts that his dad had collected over the years, plus items that others have donated to the collection. "So, it’s not just a family museum anymore," Boothe said. The museum is a place where visitors can go to learn about life during "the good ol’ days" or relive them. However, there is a special, glassed-in area in the back of the museum that is devoted to Boothe’s parents, T.J. and Pauline. It is filled with everything from photographs to clothes they wore and furniture with which they set up housekeeping. Boothe often wanders through the museum, doing a little reliving of his own. But more than likely, he can be found in Doc’s Country Store chattin’ and chewin’ the fat with those who wander through the screen doors and into the past. The screen doors creak, the wood floor squeaks and the old-time sounds seem to say, "Welcome. We’re glad you’re here."     Old screen doors slamming jog memories fro older visitors and serve as a portal to the past for others. Boothe wanted to recreate the atmosphere of the old country stores that were the hub of so many communities in the not-so-distant past, so he went to great lengths and distances to do so. The many-colored ceiling planks are boards that were salvaged from old structures that were razed. The wide planks on the floor are from timber that was cut on his farm. "I looked everywhere to find old counters and cabinets that would give the store an authentic look," Boothe said. "Then, I collected old country store items, such as the cheese box and cash register. Anything I could find that was used in those old stores." Doc’s County Store is stocked much as the stores of old. Jars of jellies, jams, pickles, relishes and mustard eggs line one wall of the store. Bottles of syrup and cider and pepper sauce glisten when the afternoon sun filters through the screen doors. Chimes tingle as visitors enter the store and children make a beeline for the barrels of saltwater taffy and stash of penny candy. There are trinkets and lots of useful things such as enamelware, buckets and such. There are stuffed chickens and fluffy cats and toys of old and some things never seen before. From the back of the store, the rattle of pots and pans can be heard as burgers are frying and chili is bubbling in the pot. The whirr of the ice cream freezer and the popping of the hit-and-miss engine that turns the giant churns are like magnets, drawing a hungry crowd.   There is a special, glassed-in area in the back of the museum that is devoted to Boothe’s parents displaying items used when they first set up housekeeping.   That’s the way Doc Boothe likes it: people coming in from the present to enjoy the simplicity and warmth of the past. That’s the way he planned it and it just couldn’t have worked out any better at Doc’s Country Store where time seems to stand still and no one seems to be in a hurry to leave. "On down the road, young people are not going to be able to see the past," Boothe said. "But here and now, they can. That’s what this is all about." Lunch is served at Doc’s County Store from 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Doc’s County Store is open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon until 6 p.m. on Sunday. Jaine Treadwell is a freelance writer from Brundidge.       Doc’s Country Store is stocked much as the stores of old. Jars of jellies, jams, pickles, relishes and mustard eggs line the walls. Children make a beeline for the saltwater taffy and stash of penny candy.   Many of the boards used to build the store structure were salvaged from old structures that were razed.