Photo of The Month – Oct 2003

Rucker Scruggs’ Store

Picture contributor: Mary Scruggs

The proprietor, dressed in bib overalls, stands in front of his old store, surveying his domain. Although there is no porch, an overhang protects those who might want to sit and whittle, or smoke, or enjoy a cold drink on the benches and boxes on the paved area beneath. The yard is raw dirt and the store's sides and front display tattered advertisements. — Rucker Scruggs’ Store – 1961

My grandfather was Roy Rucker Scruggs [shown in photo] and his wife was Ina Mae. He ran the store from before World War II and for at least 35 years. The store did real well and made money mainly on gas before the war, but with gas rationing and the shortage of fuel the store fell onto hard times. After the war stores were unable to make much money on gas. It was a favorite meeting place for the men of the community. My grandfather died in 1962. My father Bill Scruggs and my mother Lib ran the store and turned it around, later building Scruggs Grocery.”

—Mary Scruggs