Farewell to the Cinder Block Building

by Howard Kent

July 19, 2014

As of July 8, 2014, the old Cone's cinder block building became no more. For newbies, it's probably no big deal, but from some of the more seasoned crowd, a collective sigh may have been heard. It was in 1949 that E.L. Cone had a building constructed that became Cone's Farm Store. You could say it was a chip off the olf block, because earlier in 1945 he had a two-story cinder block building constructed across the street with a display room and garage. Some may remember it as the old Shell station. Today, it serves as part of the Les Schwab Tire complex. In 1953, the Farm Store became Cone's Grocery and Cafe, and served in that capacity for many years. The business became a family affair that included Elbert and Lotus, Elden, Bernice, and Carol Pomeroy. This is the period when we older dudes and dudettes acquired many fond memories. Its friendly atmosphere and good food will not be forgotten. Who could forget the laughter generated by waitress Doris Howard? They did an expansion of the building in 1965 to accommodate a larger grocery stock. The business was taken over in 1976 by the Colbys. In the same year they had acquired Bill Irwin's floor covering business, built a new block building, and opened Cone's Floor Covering. Today it serves as the Commumnity Thrift Store. Later, in 1981, it opened as Erickson's Spise Stue, which in Swedish means casual dining. It operated until their Chic n Chop restaurant business got up and rolling. In 1983 Winey's TV and Appliance opened up. Later, in 1988, it served as Movie Machine II in association with Deli Delight. Sometime in the 1990s, gas pumps were added, and it became known as South Hill Video Store. Mike Smith acquired the building in 1996 or 1997. When the business closed, the building remained empty for some time. The last occupant of the building was Yoder's Discount Grocery. Farewell, old friend, you had a good 61 year run.