History of Froedge's General Store
Earl & Mildred Froedge owned and operated Froedge's
General Store in Summer Shade, Kentucky
for 42 years until March 1986 when they retired. Originally from Barren County,
they lived in Bowling Green,
Kentucky and later Hartsville, Tennessee
where Earl worked as manager of a Kroger store. It was there that he decided to
make a career in the grocery business and open his own store. Before that dream
could become a reality, he was called to serve in the U. S. Army in the South
Pacific. After his discharge from the army, they headed to Detroit to find employment, and both worked
at Ford Motor Company until the dissatisfaction of city life and the dream of
owning a store caused them to return to Barren County.
They soon rented, and later purchased a store building at
Summer Shade, Kentucky
in nearby Metcalfe
County from Oscar Harvey.
In June 1944, Froedge's General Store opened for business. In addition to
groceries, they sold hardware, dry goods, housewares, feed & fertilizer,
and some automotive supplies.
Marjorie Norman was an employee for 41 years. She waited on
customers, ordered and stocked dairy products, frozen foods, tobacco products,
and maintained the books for the store. Marjorie passed away in December 1993.
Edna Wade worked as cashier for several years and then retired. She continued
to help out during busy times even after her retirement. Edna passed away in
November 1998.
J. D. Barlow was an employee for 52 years
(34 years at the store and then an additional 18 years on the Froedge’s farm in
Eighty Eight, Kentucky after the store closed).
At the store he was responsible for stocking and delivering farm
supplies which included feed, fertilizer, seed, and coal. He made many out of
town trips hauling coal from Morgantown
and Manchester,
feed from Louisville,
and fertilizer from Jeffersonville,
Indiana. He also counted and
inspected eggs in the early years when customers "traded" them for
groceries and dry goods.
They had one daughter, Linda, who was
responsible for ordering and stocking the health, beauty aid, and school supply
section of the store. She was employed at South Central Rural Telephone in Glasgow for 30 years and
retired in 2004. She is married to Cecil Glass, a realtor with Coldwell Banker. Linda has one son, Alex Earl, who is
employed at Android in Bowling Green. Cecil has a daughter, Kristin, who graduated
from the University
of Kentucky in May 2004
with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. He also has a son, Shawn, who is self
employed and installs home entertainment systems.
Froedges Store was one of the few remaining country stores to
carry customer accounts the entire year until payment was made when tobacco was
sold. It served as a gathering place for local people to "sit down and
drink a Coca Cola" while discussing local news, weather, farming trends,
and the world as seen from southern Kentucky.
Both Earl and Mildred were very active in
the Summer Shade community. Mildred helped to organize the Summer Shade
Homemakers in 1947 which is still in existence today. She is a member of the Summer Shade
Baptist Church.
She also helped to organize "Summer Shade Friends" (local people
contributing to a fund used to help families in the community when disaster
strikes, or there is death or sickness in the family).
Earl was President of the Bank of Summer
Shade from 1952 until 1983 when it merged with Edmonton State Bank, and he
served on the Board of Directors for the Edmonton State Bank until his death in
April 2004.
After retiring, Earl and Mildred
moved to Glasgow, Kentucky and spent many years enjoying
themselves by spending time with their family, doing the things they like to
do, and best of all.... no alarm clock!
After a long struggle with cancer,
Earl passed away on April 19th,
2004. Please follow the link
below to read how he battled this terrible disease with two very simple
ingredients – flax oil and cottage cheese.
Mildred passed away on February 7, 2005 after suffering many years with
Sjogren ’s syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease.