Renovation on the Clement Hotel in New Edinburg, Arkansas by Willie Carroll Livingstion was recently completed. The original structure, smaller than the present permutation was completed cirda 1879. Before renovation the bulding was nearing the point of no return before Livingston and his wife saved the day for the aging hotel. With the exception of the roof, they did the work themselves.

The Clement Hotel from the back yard. All of the one-story structures were add-ons to the original building which had a breeze-way.

Next door to the Clement Hotel is the former Stewart store. Willie Carroll Livingston and his wife, the individuals who restored the hotel next door, recently bought the store and are entertaining plans to resotore it.

Local historian James C. Boney, believes the Stewart store was built in the thirties. "The doors were closed on the store in 1978." After that, it became a storage facility for the Stewart family.

During our visit, Stewart relatives were removing everything not nailed down from the store prior to the new owners taking possession. They had just started the moving process when this image was shot. The old ice cream box in the foreground was one of the first things to go.

Typical of strucures of this era, heat was provided by a large wood stove. This one was removed not long after the picture was taken.

Near the wood stove was a kerosene tank. Almost every store at that time had one. The tank has a self contained pump. Kerosene, known widely as "coal-oil," served as fuel for lanterns and as a fire starter for wood stoves. By today's standards, a wood stove and a nearby kerosene tank are not compatible.

At the back of the store there was an old range. Notice the vegetable bin to the right of the range.

There were a few small products left on the store shelves. The products are, from the left: senna leaves (used as a laxative),;unknown bottle of small white pills; a bottle of Lysol still in the original box; a tube of some unknown gooey amber-colored substance; a leaking box of Triumph Brand Powered Alum; a can of Gulf Spray containing pyretherins; a bottle of KAMPHENE antiseptic dressing; a small bottle of yellow looking stuff; an open container of Listo Leads, an open box of Citrocarbonate, a leaking tube of the aforementioned amber-colored gooey stuff, a round box of Copperas, and last but not least, an open box of sulphur. Molasses anyone?

A large Lucky Strike cigarette decal still graces a window at the entrance of the store. The old store screen door if opened in front of the window. At the bottom of the cigarette pack is to old cryptic Lucky Strike slogan. "L.S./M.F.T." which translated to "Lucky Strike means fine tobacco." The boys in the back room had a different meaning for the slogan which I will not reveal due to the family nature of this site. Back in the day, I preferred Camels anyway.

A closer look at the Lucky Strike logo through the screen door.

The glassed in entrance to the store.

The same picture as before cropped differently.

The old gas pump in front of the store shows that the last sale was for 11.4 gallons of regular gas at 44¢ a gallon.

A glimpse through the oversized front door to the old store. At this point, much of the "stuff" had been removed. The small object on the porch to the lower left of the picture is a deceased rat. Exploring lowly maintained historical structures is not without its interesting moments.

A look at the inside of the store with much of the contents removed. The boy is the son of the Stewart relatives cleaning out the store. He was anxious to be in a picture and was a perfect subject, holding his pose as instructed.

The old Finch McCullough store, a neighbor to the former Stewart store in New Edinburg, was formerly a Methodist Church. The building was moved to this location after church members sold it to the store owners.

A second look at the store, nee church.

Hunger attacked me during the shoot so I ambled down to McClellan's Country Store in New Edinburg. I ordered a turkey and ham sandwich with all of the goodies. What I got should have been measured by the pound or cubic foot. It was a super-sandwich by any measure. That coupled with a Barq's Root Beer in the traditional long-necker bottle was exactly what the doctor ordrered for this good ol' boy.

McClellan's Country Store in New Edinburg, Arkansas. Parked in front is Dempsey's pickup, recently turning over 240,000 miles.