Back in the 1950s and 1960s, soft drink companies provided free illuminated signs for stores and small restaurants. Most were Coke or Pepsi signs, but in Michigan, Vernors competed with the big boys. The Vernors sign in this photograph marked the Hersey General Store for decades.

Though it recently went out of business, the general store was the center of commerce in Hersey for a good share of the 20th century. I remember going into the store in the 1960s and seeing groceries, overalls, lanterns, axes, socks, fishing tackle, and sundry other supplies. The era of the general store ended as chain stores in nearby towns offered lower prices and more selection.

Brewed in Detroit, Vernors has been a favorite soft drink in Michigan for decades. With its strong ginger flavor and aggressive carbonation (think bubbles in the nose when you drink a glass of it!), it is a lively alternative to more insipid pop. Vernors is traditionally aged in oak barrels for four years; thirty years ago the village of Hersey, Michigan the location of this photograph, was a storage center for these oak containers. Little buildings scattered on the edges of town were stuffed to the rafters with oak barrels.

Lee Rentz