Then and Now: From hardware and housewares to toys and trinkets

Once upon a time, residents of northern Carroll County came into the villages of Conway and North Conway for the necessities of life: groceries, clothing, hardware, medical supplies. In either village, everything one needed could be had within walking distance, and it was perfectly feasible to live without an automobile for those who also worked in the village. Because all the vital goods and services were there, so were many of the jobs.

The Carroll County Co. supplied much of what the handyman or housekeeper needed to keep a home habitable, from plumbing supplies and paint to cookware and curtain rods, and the clerks all knew their stuff.