• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

KitchenLane

Original, well-tested recipes, enticing photos, and helpful cookbook writing how-tos

  • Home
  • meet nancy
  • Blog
  • news and events
  • The Art of Cooking with Lavender
  • articles
  • recipe archives
  • cookbooks
  • reviews
  • Newsletter
  • videos
  • contact
  • New Lavender Cookbook
  • Connecticut Attorney’s Polish Client Snatched from His Car

Hometown America–Main Street, Phoenixville, PA, Plus the “Generations” Gift Shop

July 7, 2013 By Nancy Baggett 1 Comment

It seems fitting that I found myself on a picturesque small town American main street during this Fourth of July weekend. I was visiting my sister who lives near Pennsylvania Dutch country yesterday, and we stopped by to say hello to her friend, Sue Meadows, left, in Phoenixville, PA. (It’s 30 miles west of Philadelphia; the population is about 16,000.)
Sue is standing in front of her “Generations” toy and gift shop at 113 Main Street, Phoenixville, the same building that housed her grandfather’s pharmacy and soda fountain from the early twentieth century to the 1950s. (The black and white photo at the bottom shows him with a customer.) Sue’s shop is crammed with hundreds and hundreds of interesting items: In addition to a huge toy selection, she carries decorative china and ceramics, kitchenware, vintage jewelry,  greeting cards, and much more. (I came away with an adorable ruffled apron for my granddaughter.)
The pic at right features two of the early soda fountain signs on display atop the original soda fountain in Generations. Note
that while ice cream sodas were a pricey 10 cents, a root beer could be had for just a nickel!  If you visit, don’t forget to look up and check out the antique pressed tin ceiling, too!
In the pic below you can see that the massive marble and carved wood soda fountain cabinet is now decked out with assorted toys rather than the ice cream parlor glassware, soda water dispensers and milk shake machines of her grandfather’s day. (While almost every American town  once boasted at least one soda fountain, the number still functioning is only estimated at about 125 across the entire nation. Personally, I’m very sorry they’re becoming extinct!)
Did you know that soda jerks were called jerks due to their repeatedly pulling the levers that dispensed soda water? I’ve read that some overly senstitive “jerks” preferred to be called “fountaineers,” but– perhaps not surprisingly –this never caught on!
Some soda jerks were showmen, performing for their customers by dropping scoops of ice cream from far above into the serving dish,  spritzing on clouds of whipped cream with a flourish, and dramatically tossing nuts and flipping cherries from behind their back onto sundae tops. For more on history on soda fountains, plus my recipe a classic banana split (said to have been invented in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh), go here.
 
Like the iconic Main Street of many small eastern U.S. cities and towns, Phoenixville’s is lined with large trees and old homes, a goodly number
in the late Victorian “gingerbread” architectural style. I thought the
house at right, located just a couple blocks from Sue’s shop,  looked particularly stunning. But there where a
number of others similarly adorned with gables, bay windows, turrets,
expansive porches and elaborate latticework with contrasting painted
trim. I plan to go back and photograph additional houses in the future.


                                                                          
Should you wish to visit “Generations–Things Old and New,” it’s at 113 Main St
Phoenixville, PA 19460.
Phone: (610) 933-8100. Email: http://generationsonmain.com
Hours: Wed-Sat 12:30 pm – 5 pm (except on “Long Friday”  the first Friday of each month, when the shop is open until 9 pm). Several Philly area shoppers have rated the shop a top spot for its toys, gifts nostalgia, and friendly service; their “hotlist” comments are here.

If you’re now hungry for a classic banana split or soda fountain history, go here. Or, for my authentic, old-timey hot fudge sauce recipe, go here.


Print Friendly, PDF & Email
FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 113 Main St., antique soda fountains, Generations Gift Shop, Main Street, nostalgia, PA, Phoenixville, soda fountains, Sue Meadows, turn-of-the-century pharmacy, USA

Previous Post: « Pomegranate-Honey-Yogurt Pops-Cooling, Healthful, Delish
Next Post: Blueberry-Apple Crumble–Easy Homespun Dessert »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    July 11, 2013 at 1:01 am

    Like those old signs–fun!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Welcome to KitchenLane! It’s a comfortable place where I create, thoroughly test, and photograph recipes for my cookbooks and blog. All my recipes are original, not adaptations from others. I trained as a pastry chef, so many offerings are desserts and baked goods. Some are also healthful, savory dishes I contribute to healthy eating publications. My recipes are always free of artificial dyes, flavorings, and other iffy additives, which I won’t serve my family—or you! Instead, dishes feature naturally flavorful, colorful ingredients including fresh herbs, berries, edible flowers, and fruits, many from my own suburban garden or local farmers’ markets. Since lots of readers aspire to write cookbooks, I also blog on recipe writing and editing and other helpful publishing how-to info accumulated while authoring nearly 20 well-received cookbooks over many years.


The Art of Cooking with Lavender

The Art of Cooking with Lavender
 

The 2 Day A Week Diet Cookbook

Now available on Amazon! The 2 Day a Week Diet Cookbook
75 Recipes & 50 Photos
 

SIMPLY SENSATIONAL COOKIES

Simply Sensational Cookies
Visit the book page.
 

KNEADLESSLY SIMPLE

Kneadlessly Simple
Visit the book page

The All-American Dessert Book

The All-American Dessert Book
Visit the book page

The All-American Cookie Book

The All-American Cookie Book
 

Nancy Baggett’s Food Network Gingerbread Demo!

Watch demo HERE. Find Cookie Recipe HERE.

Secondary Sidebar

Archives

Kitchen Lane Trailer

Nasturtium Recipes & Quick Tricks

Nasturtium Recipes & Quick Tricks

Violet Quick Tips

Violet Quick Tips

Fun, Easy Cookie Decorating with Marbling

Fun, Easy Cookie Decorating with Marbling

Pretty Piping with Only a Baggie

Pretty Piping with Only a Baggie

Latest Video – Pretty Daisy Cookies

Pretty Daisy Cookies

Fun, Quick Cooking Baking with the Kids Video

Fun, Quick Cooking Baking with the Kids Video

The Best Way to Roll Out Cookie Dough

The Best Way to Roll Out Cookie Dough

The Best Way to Roll Out Cookie Dough

- Part 2 -

Best Tips for Cutting Out Cookies

Featured Bread Recipe and Video

Featured Bread Recipe and Video

Most Popular Posts

Getting to Yes on Foodgawker and Tastespotting (My Six-Month Journey, Plus Tips)

Strawberry-Rhubarb Freezer Jam–Spring in Every Jar

The Kneadlessly Simple Crusty White Pot Bread

Featured Bread Recipe and Video

Copyright © 2025 · Nancy Baggett's Kitchenlane. All material on this website is copyrighted and may not be reused without the permission of Nancy Baggett.