Written by Paul E. Brown - 1995
"Bill was Augusta to me."
William M. and Ina Crawford - Bill Crawford was a fixture in Augusta when I was a boy. He operated "Crawford's Store" on the square and lived directly across the street in the home that is now going to rack and ruin. Bill always kept his store and his home in excellent condition and it pains me to see both places going down the tube.
Bill's store was large and well kept. He always had a unlighted cigar in his mouth. In fact I never saw the cigar lit, but his bald head and his unlighted cigar will always be remembered by me. Ina, his wife, I never knew very well. His daughter, Vera, was younger than I and for that reason was relatively unimportant.
I'll always remember the large steam radiator in the store that felt good to lean against when the weather was cold and we were just standing around entertaining each other. Bill was Augusta to me.
I took Pauline over to Crawfords on many occasions and treated her to a sumptuous offering of pop (in the bottle) and ice cream, both costing me the expensive sum of 15 cents each. I was generous in those days and I'll always remember Crawford's store with a warm spot in my heart. Sad to see it in disrepair. In front were the gas pumps. A busy place. Bill Sheckler was a fixture in that store but I'll probably get to his name later.
