June, 2019

By Mary Ann Doyle

“Build it and they will come” was an accurate adage for the people who settled Harshaw. When the lumber barons laid the railroads to haul away their timber harvests they created a commerce vein that also provided mail, supplies and passengers to the little communities that popped up along its arteries.

Harshaw was no different and in the mid 1920s a general store was constructed at the T intersection of Church and Harshaw Roads. The railroad tracks ran in front of it along the Bearskin creek and it proved a popular stop point for tourists and locals alike.

The store was originally operated by Will and Mabel Stock but soon after was purchased by Gordon Synott and Harrison McNown. In 1928 Harrison bought out Gordon and took Esther DeGroot as his bride.

The couple opened the McNown General Store and provided a variety of services. Harrison secured the stop as a fourth class post office and this helped keep income steady during the store’s early years. Along with Esther, Harrison proved an industrious entrepreneur. A graduate of the  Wausau School of Business he had the knowledge and determination to make the business grow and it did.

As the years passed, the family expanded and three children, Emily, Edward (Mickey) and Carolyn were raised working the counter and helping customers. In fact the information for this article was obtained from an interview with Emily which is feature in the book, Cassian, 1903-2003, 100 Years of History and Legends. “As oldest, I think I spent the most time in the store and enjoyed it the most,” she is quoted in the article.

The store provided more than groceries and supplies though. It was a place where train passengers could stretch their legs and get a bottle of pop (5 cents) and it was a popular gathering place for locals to shop and chat, especially while waiting for the mail to come in. It was dropped by the train at 10 a.m. and was met by Harrison and Jim Lokken, the rural mail carrier. Orders for groceries or supplies were brought in the day before and Jim delivered these along with the mail on roads that were sometimes miring mud tracks or almost impassable because of snow.

Business really ticked up during the summer months when the tourists from the numerous resorts in the area stopped in. Emily recounts she and her siblings making good money selling worms for bait, (35 cents a hundred) during this season.

Harrison kept long hours opening the store at 6 a.m. to receive deliveries from Oneida Milk and Tomahawk Bakery. Locally grown produce, homemade butter, eggs and even strawberries and potatoes when in season were offered. In the cold months Harrison stocked locally produced meat such as beef and pork and also sold ice and took orders for coal and government wheat allotments.

In addition to groceries the store offered tools, various hardware items, magazines, ammunition, yard goods, clothing for men and women, boots and shoes, tobacco, fishing tackle, candy and anything else a customer requested.

In the early years all this was provided without electricity which meant storing perishable foods a challenge. Esther met that challenge by canning seasonal unsold fruit or vegetables before they spoiled. She even developed a recipe for the cookie fragments at the bottom of the wholesale boxes they were delivered in. In the 1940s electricity came to the community and storekeeping became easier.  

Harrison kept the operation open until 9 or 10 p.m., seven days a week, however he made one concession. He closed at noon on Sunday, the only day the family could eat a meal together.

Harrison was a popular and respected Harshaw resident, known for his kindness and generosity. That was reflected in the fact he was often requested as a pallbearer within the community. He was known as a soft touch to the less fortunate and would make loans to those in need. He also forgave credit due bills to widows and once even drove to Madison to give blood for transfusions needed by a neighbor. Back in the 1930s that was a long trip.

There were many hobos who came through on the train and Harrison always gave them a package of food but he made them work for it. There was always wood to cut for the stove or other chores he set them too.

The McNown’s ran the store for 35 years then sold it. Shortly after it burned down. In the mid 1960s a trailer home was placed on the spot. It remains there today surrounded by trees Esther planted long ago.

Harrison died in 1986 and Esther passed in 1996. They enjoyed their retirement spending winters in Florida and summers in their beloved Wisconsin. 

They were truly an inspirational couple that played a big role in Harshaw’s fascinating history.