Cranberries in the Smith Sherlock Company Store and a Bus Load of Visitors

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Eagle Tailoring Company Catalog used by the Smith Sherlock Company Store, South Pass City State Historic Sites, Wyoming, to store invoices. 
Eagle Tailoring Company Catalog used by the Smith Sherlock Company Store to store invoices.

Another Friday, another two-minute commute (on foot) to the shop. There, I meet up with Gator who is already loading up sodas. We have only a few sarsaparillas left, so we also took some birch beer and root beer. A lucky thing we took all of this because, at day’s end Gator had sold a whopping two bottles.

Our weekly staff meeting was cancelled, so I was off to the archives. I digitized invoices, as I usually do on Friday and Saturday mornings. The store saved most of its invoices in outdated vendor catalogs. Many of them were from the Eagle Tailoring Company of Chicago. I started a new volume of invoices today. The catalog has 50 pages, about ¼ inch thick pressed cardboard and the catalog itself is about 21.5” tall and 17’ wide- it is quite hefty.

The find of the day was an invoice for two barrels of cranberries. Each barrel held about 100 pounds of berries. The invoice is dated 22 October, evidently in preparation for Thanksgiving. Nothing but the best for the folks of South Pass City, these were Fancy grade, presumably from Cape Cod (C. C.).

 

Invoice for fresh cranberries to Smith Sherlock Company Store, South Pass City Wyoming.  
 
Invoice to Smith Sherlock Company Store for fresh cranberries.

In 1906, the railroad had made it to Lander, the nearest town, about 34 miles away, so the cranberries made a quick continent-wide trip to get to then be transported to South Pass City.

Today was a bit odd, about 26 people visited the store. Oh, except for a bus load in the early afternoon: 48 persons on a tour and their bus driver (so a total of 75 visitors in total). They arrived in a pack and then kept coming for about 30 minutes. Altogether, members of the group were probably around for 40 minutes.

I asked the bus driver what the theme of the tour was- it was a mystery tour. I was wondering, what they visit ghost towns and other towns with unusual histories? No. People sign up for the tour, for so many nights at some price, and are never told where they are going. Not before the tour starts, nor day to day. What an unusual concept. A tour scheduled for next July was opened on July 1 of this year and sold out within minutes. One of the told me that this was his seventh such mystery tour with this group.

Things slowed down after the tour group left. Around 2:30, a recently retired couple came in and asked about volunteering- why I did it, etc. They are thinking about doing some travel in retirement, have a travel trailer, and are at entertaining the idea of volunteering at parks. I recommended the experience.

4:00 rolled around and I closed the store. I made a salad, reheated a mushroom and onion gravy I made earlier in the week and grilled pork chops. I relaxed a bit while Connie did the dishes and we headed to the Rock Shop Inn for a after dinner wine (me) and ice tea (Connie). I did some writing and photo editing.

At the Rock Shop, I ran into a party that had come through the Smith Sherlock Company Store earlier today. We chatted a bit on their way out.

After a while, we headed back to the trailer to read, etc. On the way back Connie saw a two or three pronghorn antelope. 

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