2019 Programs

New England’s General Stores: Ted Reinstein October 20, 2019

On Sunday October 20, the Boxborough Historical Society presented Ted Reinstein of the Channel 5 Chronicle team speaking on he and his wife’s book “New England’s General Stores: Exploring an American Classic”. The presentation was in the Grange Room of the Boxborough Town Hall (29 Middle Road) starting at 2:00 PM. Admission was free and all were welcome.

The general store is literally as old as America itself. It was real-life Norman Rockwell—deeply woven into America’s cultural identity, an integral part of the nation’s self-portrait from its earliest days. But over the last 50 years, many of New England’s general stores have disappeared. Ted Reinstein has been a reporter for the WCVB TV (Channel 5) Chronicle team for almost 25 years during which he has garnered many national awards including an Emmy in 2018. On October 20 he shared the rich and colorful history of the general store, how they figured in the rise of early American commerce, why they began to fade, and why they have begun to come back and even be re-invented and re-imagined for a new era. The presentation was followed by Q&A and book purchase/signing.