A Trip To The Store

Life was difficult on the frontier for the Cannon’s and many others venturing out west. When these men and women arrived to settle in an unfamiliar territory, disappointment may have often been the norm. Whether there was a building or not to claim, it was necessary to have a structure to settle in. With the ongoing need for provisions, the nearest outpost or town would be a good place to start. Chances are these young towns were very crude and raw in form, not like those back East that were organized, civilized and established. These tough resilient people learned how to survive given the challenges that they were dealt. The towns were mostly full of men, but some only had a few women, and many of them were ‘working’ women, such as the ones in brothel houses or business owners.

 
Tucson was about 35 miles from the Cannon ranch and in 1873 the trip might have taken several hours one way to travel by horseback, covered wagon or buckboard. There were no real paved roads, just dirt paths, if anything to follow. Consider feeling all of those bumps and jolts as the wagon would pass over them, especially when trying to outrun the outlaws, banditos or Indians. If that wasn’t enough, the dry wind coupled with the dust or even a Haboob, the various plants and wild life that were dangerous in their own right could jeopardize even the most pleasant of rides. Plenty of water needed to be taken along, and wearing protective clothing was a must as well. Hopefully there would be a watering hole nearby to access during that trip to town.

 
Often the store, or mercantile would be the most frequented by the men and women as it was the best place to socialize and shop at the same time. Inventories there would be extremely limited to the most essential of a pioneers needs with a small amount of frivolous items as well. Shelves of fabrics, ready-made garments, graniteware, stoneware, wagon or farm necessities, wooden crates full of everything from nails, to a possible cherished piece of china might be just a sampling of the items available. Freighting wagons would deliver their shipments during the year to these stores, but those trips were not always frequent due to the weather, availability of the goods, the cost, and the ability to safely deliver the merchandise.

 
Wasn’t it amazing that given all of the possible obstacles a trip to town could have, Victoria seemed to have a beautiful parasol to shield her from the scorching sun and the dusty trail, but she always looked beautiful whenever she arrived!

 

store picture

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