Paris-Henry County Heritage Center ~ Grocery Stores Exhibit

The Shofner & Thompson Grocery Store was founded 1935 on the northeast corner of Brewer and East Washington streets in Paris by Richard Shofner and Edward Thompson. It and several other local grocery stores are the subject of a new exhibit in the Entrepreneur Center of the Paris-Henry County Heritage Center at 614 North Poplar Street in Paris. Murray State University intern Shannon McFarlin, who researched, designed and built the exhibit, said the idea came for the exhibit when she was leafing through an old address book, and found grocery stores listed "like they were part of the family." The exhibit, which expected to be on display for about a year, is open during the Heritage Center’s regular hours of 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 10 a.m. -2 p.m. Saturdays. This photo was provided by Wayne Webb of Mansfield.

Reprinted from the Paris Post-Intelligencer
October 20, 2004 Edition
Used by permission.

This photo, while not dated, appears to be from the late 1940's, considering the car and the parking meters. As I recall, parking meters were installed in Paris shortly after the end of WW II, (1945.) While the signs are not readable in this scan the stores from left to right are: Meals Drugs, Paris Hardware, Perry's, Dixie Billiard Parlor, Shofner's and on the corner Lee's Cafe (above the Coke sign out front is written The Princess Cafe.) This block is very familiar to me. I worked at the Princess Theater directly across from the restaurant. In the early 1940's my uncle, Roger "Pete" Blackwood owned (in partnership with Willie Neese) and operated the restaurant. (webmaster)