A bit of an 'Arkwright.'

 

'Open All Hours at Morven'

It must be close to thirty years ago when I sketched this old shop on the street corner in that little village of Morven, not far from Waimate, in South Canterbury,  New Zealand.  I haven't been back that way for a long time, I wonder if this old place is still there.?                                                                                 Having grown up in a little country village myself, I seem to be drawn back to those old places and their memories.  In actual fact, when I look at the date on my sketch, it reads 1993.     

This delightful old store on a corner was built of double brick sometime during 1912 by James Meehan, who I believe was also operating a general merchants business at Makikihi, another little village just down the road a bit..  Although almost illegible in those days, the top parapet still carried the name, James Meehan and Sons.   They say this building actually replaced an original structure, erected in 1889, as a general store, boarding house and tearooms.  Unfortunately, that first building was destroyed by fire in 1910.

 Over the years, there had been a number of tenants who tried their luck as storekeepers, the longest serving behind the counter for a period of twenty-eight years.  One of the Morven locals I called on at the time could recall that businessman as a bit of an ‘Arkwright’, who opened his doors to customers at all hours and made his deliveries in a bright red van.  I wonder if that shopkeeper had a similar vicious cash register, akin the one in that television series 'Open all Hours'.

 I don’t know why, but my memory is drawn back to similar villages such as Morven on many occasions.  Perhaps it is the nostalgic feeling I get, when letting my mind wander back to the activity along these streets in days gone by.