#6 of a series: Roger Palmer, proprietor ‘Bushells’ general store 44 years ago.

The year is 1979. How’s business?

“I was born in Belfast, moved to Dublin, met a girl in London who came from Maldon, bought a place in Dunolly then went for a drive to Maldon one day to see my wife’s uncle – Ivor Sampson. He said, ‘Go and see Mrs Wilson across the road. She’s talking about selling.’ I went over, I liked the ice blocks, and I bought her shop. And then I had to walk back across the road to tell my wife.

“It was like a corner store, a general store. Sold everything food wise, from ice cream to groceries, veggies…

“Over the years I became a jack of all trades including being a chef for six years, and I thought, ‘Well, you could do an awful lot with this shop because Mrs Wilson only did six rolls a day and that was that. Or put on half a dozen pies, and that was that.’ And I bought the shop on condition I got the recipe for the ice blocks. She said, ‘Oh, it’s never worthwhile doing the ice blocks – I only sell a few, and there’s too much messing around.’ In the end, I couldn’t go into a weekend without making about 23”¦ 24”¦ 25 dozen. Then make a whole lot more for Sunday.

“They held the shop together because people would come into the shop, and while they were waiting for me to produce the ice blocks, they would buy cigarettes or milk or butter or meat or ham or something.

“The back room was a kitchen, so we did a lot of homemade food. Whatever the customers wanted. We always did a spaghetti or a curry or something. So, we got a good trade. Truckers going past used to stop.

“We never took time off. Well, we did separately. I’d go off for a couple of days. We took two and a half days off in nine and a half years together, and that was for funerals and weddings when we both had to appear. But it enabled us to buy a house. So, it was well worth the hard work.”

Final question, Roger – where is the recipe for these ice blocks?

“It is very safe at the present.”

The letters M, A, L, D, O, N were face down in front of Roger. One by one, the letters were revealed and the conversation captured.

• A. Always.

“Always. You had to be open for business. Always. Because what you put in, you get out. Over the week, over the months, everything goes up and down, up and down like a yo-yo. And it’s the same today. But what hasn’t changed is the need for Maldon to appear to be open seven days a week. I reckon shops have to stagger their closing days. You can’t just open three days a week then complain about business being bad. Then”¦ now”¦you have to work together. Always.”

• M. Maldon.

“Just after I bought the shop, we had the 1980 fire that came through and I remember being with one of the locals, and I was up on the roof with the hose. An empty shop on the right. That was the Masonic Lodge, and an empty shop on the left, and there was I on the roof with water just trickling out of the hose trying to wet everything. I could see the flames coming over around ANZAC Hill, and it came right down to the fence line on a house in Spring Street. On top of everything else, I thought every cent I own was in my shop. If the fire got to the empty shops either side of me”¦ it would all just go up that lot, and I’d be ruined.

Suddenly the wind changed, and the fire went back in itself.”

Photos: Liam Lynch Photography

• D. Delivery.

“I delivered lunches to the slipper factory, T-shirt factory and for the school”¦ We always had a couple of specials going, and we delivered. It didn’t matter if the school was only two meals. You’d put it in a milk crate and that was that. I had a little minivan, which one of my customers came and said, “I owe you some money. I’m leaving town. Would you like my van?” So, I took it, and in the end I did 72,000 miles in this little red van, and I used it to do all my deliveries. But it was well worth it. It was a pleasure. You need to take the opportunities, like if you went into a local shop and they didn’t have what you wanted they would say they’d have it in for you tomorrow. And they did. You provided a service, didn’t just sell stuff.”

• L. Light bulbs.

“She was a dear elderly lady. She used to come in to me if there were specials going, and she’d buy the special. Then she started buying light bulbs. I said, ‘Well, how have you managed to put them in when they hang from the ceiling?’ She said, ‘It’s quite simple. I climb on a chair. I then climb up onto the kitchen table. I then lift the chair onto the table, then climb up onto that chair and put it in.’ From that day, whenever she bought a light bulb, I used to go down to her house just around the corner and put the light bulb in. It’s just what you did. We just supported each other. Other businesses in town supported each other.”

Photos: Liam Lynch Photography

• O. Open.

“I don’t think the shops generally are open enough. And the type of shops come in waves, but that’s always been the case. A while back we had service shops galore. We’ve got ladies dress shops galore now. You could go to the Eaglehawk Motel and eat a very nice meal. That was where you had a birthday party, you go there, or Ruby’s. It’s great to have the takeaway, and with local support I feel we’re just going into getting restaurants. Businesses come and go, some in waves, nothing different, but they need locals to buy local.”

• N. Now.

“Sometimes when times are  difficult, you need to appreciate  what’s right under our noses. To look around you”¦ the hilly part, that the town is not just dead flat and boring. The history of it. I used to live in a cottage in Maldon that was built in 1860, which was four years after the Tarrangower Times started. Four years after the town was started. And now I’m thinking of a lady who used to come in to the shop, buy a couple of things, essentials, and to have a chat. It’s all part of living where we live. Part of running a business.”

This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 6 October 2023.