| Notes |
- Store at 11th and Walnut Streets, Washington, Indiana.
Obituaries:
Rolla Harrison Gines, 90, formerly of 1015 W. Walnut, died at the Washington Nursing Ceneter today at 8:00 a.m. (3/12/79). Born in Sumner, Illinois January 19, 1889, he was the son of John W. and Mary (Burgett) Gines.
For more than 60 years, he operated a grocery at 1015 W. Walnut, retiring in 1965. He was educated in the Sumner schools. He was a member of the Free Methodist Church and was a charter member of the Washington Kiwanis Club.
Surviving are two sons, Forrest and Edwin Gines, Washington; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; a sister, Mrs. Dorothy Riggs, Los Angeles; and a brother, Herald Gines, Washington. A daughter, Mrs. Nelline Godwin, two sisters and two brothers preceded him in death.
Funeral arrangements are pending at the Gill Chapel.
Services for Rolla H. Gines will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Gill Chapel with the Rev. Ralph Bright as minister. Burial wil be in Bethany Cemetery. Friends may call Thursday from 2 - 5 and 7 - 9 p.m. (3/16/79).
Service for Rolla H. Gines were Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Gill Chapel with burial in Bethany cemetery. The Rev. Ralph Bright officiated adn casket bearers were Roland Harris, Howard Blevins, Delmon Shake, Bruce Rogers, Fritz Garland and Rollie Gress.
Newspaper article from Valley Advance, Vol. 2, No. 26, Vincennes, IN, March 3, 1966.
WASHINGTON MAN NOTES 50TH YEAR AS GROCER by Larry Rodimel and David Snow
Mr. Rolla H. Gines, Washington, IN grocer, this year observes his 50th year in the neighborhood grocery business.
Mr. Gines is 77 years old and a native of Illinois. He was first introduced to the grocery business at a store established by his father in Vincennes at Second and Lyndale streets.
He told The Valley Advance that his basic knowledge of the grocery business came from those 10 years with his father.
In 1916, Mr. Gines and his brother, Oral, ventured forth in the business world with an establishment of their own at 400 West Main Street in Washington. They had only 500 dollars in cash and a 40-acre farm, given to them by their father, with which to begin their business.
After three successful years, they moved to a larger store at 1415 McCormick Avenue. It wasn't until 1926 that Mr. Gines began business for himself at 1015 West Walnut Street. Gines' Grocery has remained at this location for the past 40 years. (Oral returned to the farm at that time. He died in 1962.)
Changes have crept gradually into the grocery business over the years, Mr. Gines said. Once, a man's word was all that was needed for credit purchasing; today, however, the businessman has to check with a clearinghouse (credit bureau) for each new person's credit rating, he noted. Also, at one time, sugar and beans were stored in large barrels from which the grocer would dip the desired amount for each customer. "Now, these and other items are packaged in small individual containers for convenience," Gines mused. "Coffee was once ground fresh by the grocer; it is pre-ground or 'instant' today," he added.
Mr. Gines also remembers the days of horse and wagon delivery and fears, likewise, that the time of the small neighborhood grocery is limited due to what he called the "overwhelming success of super markets."
The major local change Mr. Gines witnessed, however, was the loss of his neighborhood customers because of the move...section by section over the years...of the B. & O. Railroad shops, the major employer of the area...Washington's West End. Diesels meant the erosion of the shops' usefulness. And that usefulness was once of major significance what with the shops equidistant from Cincinnati, Ohio and St. Louis, MO.
When asked what he would do if he had a chance to repeat his career, Mr. Gines replied that "it was by chance that I became involved in the grocery business, but I am thankful that I did have such an opportunity,."
He also said that he has considered retirement many times since he reached the age of 65, 12 years ago. "In fact," he said "I might retire any day."
The impression gained by The Valley Advance is that he loves the business too much to leave it.
There are two pictures along with the article.
(1) Taken inside the store: Mr. Gines gazes pensively out his store front as he recalls highlights of his 50 years as a grocer. He was interviewed and photographed by VU Journalism students on assignment with theValley Advance last week.
(2) This is the Gines' grocery located on the corner of West Walnut and 11th streets in Washington. A striking building in its day it still reflects a friendly atmosphere of the neighborhood grocery store of days gone by. (Valley Advance Photo)
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1889 - 1979 (90 years)
