The Brainerd store is central to the memories of all the Brainerd residents interviewed for this project. Though it had a wide variety of owners over the course of its half-century existence, the store retained its character as a central community meeting place and window to the outside worlds for generations of Brainerdites.

In this photo, taken in 1942, owners Oscar and Maggie Hershey pose on the store's front porch, facing Broadway. Note the absence of a sidewalk separating the porch from the sandy dirt street.