Once the hub of the tiny village

            The pickle barrel, cracker bin, cookie box, penny candy, pot-bellied stove and a nod from the person behind the counter of the neighborhood general store.

            It was a time before credit cards, where the amount you charged was

While most history books claim there was never a Post Office in  Fruitville, Marta (left) and Lucas Perlowski display a sign they  found in the former Frank Adam General Store.  The same  history books that fail to recognize that Fruitville even ex- isted in Upper Hanover Township.

penciled onto a piece of paper with just your first name to note the debtor.  And, the customer dutifully paid when they promised to.

            Gone is that special bond that once existed between customer and merchant at the many small stores that could be found throughout our communities.  Stores within walking distance of your home, where you could buy anything from canned goods to dry goods to laundry soap and everything in between.

            The village of Fruitville in Upper Hanover Township doesn't appear on many maps and unless you've driven down Kutztown Road between Perkiomen Heights and Clayton you may not ever know about it.  The village didn't even garner a mention in Beans' 1884 History of Montgomery County even though Kutztown Road was once traveled by stagecoaches heading from Philadelphia to Kutztown.

            But the small village at the intersection of Fruitville and Kutztown Roads exists and some folks still remember the general store that existed there.

Picture at the counter of the general store are, from left, Leo, Ella, and Frank Adam. According to the calendar on the wall, the photo was taken c.a. 1950.

            When Marta and Lucas Perlowski visited the area, they noticed the building that once housed Frank Adam's store.  Adam operated the store for nearly 50 years before closing it in 1960 and proudly displayed the Fruitville name on the stores large sign.

            Marta and Lucas, originally from Sandomierz and Lublin, Poland, decided to make the interesting old building their home – though there was and is much work to be done. 

            Since the store closed, the building went through several owners and tenants and even sat vacant for a period of time.

On June 27, 1970, about a decade after the store closed, a public auction was held selling off store items that included a coffee grinder, dry sink, plates, pottery, tea pots, wooden chests, shotgun, spool cabinet, dried vegetable bin, jars, wine press, and many more antiques and other items.

            The Perlowski's are putting their time and effort into restoring and renovating the building, hoping to one day bring new life to it by opening a café in a portion of the former store.

            We should note that Adam wasn't the first to operate a general store in Fruitville.

            William Paul, operated a general store for owner John Hillegass a few miles away in the village of Milltown.  After a falling-out with his boss in the winter of 1862-63, they parted ways, and Paul went up the road and opened a general store in Fruitville.

            What was the Milltown store was razed in the 1950s as part of the construction of the Green Lane Reservoir.

            According to an article written by the late Vic Stahl, former editor of the Town and Country newspaper, when Frank bought and opened his general store, he offered everything from fresh fish to shoes and boots.  You could even get your hair cut while sitting on the front porch of the store. 

            The store was a landmark and the hub of Fruitville. Area farmers who didn't have time to travel into town were glad to have it near their homes.

            To some local residents, shopping at Adam's store was the only opportunity they had to gather to converse and gossip among friends.

            In June of 1970, some ten years after the closing of the store, area residents flocked to the public auction of the contents.  Some looking for a bargain and many looking for a piece of history to remember a popular general store and time-gone-by.

            It was a place you visited whether you wanted to buy something or were just looking for someone to chat with. 

            Frank Adam and his wife Ella would accommodate you either way.