If it were possible to turn back time, probably a lot of people in today’s world would be reaching for the dial.

But, time has moved on, leaving behind the good ol’ days when people had time for their neighbors, a man’s handshake was his bond and the old country store was the hub of the community.

Every now and then, in some obscure wide spot in the road, there’s a place where people have time for their neighbors, where a man’s handshake is still his bond and where the old country store is, once again, the hub of the community.

Perhaps, that’s the vision that Kim Ellis and Dennie Perkins had when they purchased the “old store” at the crossroads of the New Hope community. Or, maybe, they were just looking for a place to market their deer feed that is “said” to be laced with peanut butter.

But, for whatever the reason, Ellis and Perkins have managed to bring back much of the good of the good ol’ days at The Corn Crib at a place called New Hope.

The sun had not long made an appearance Friday morning when the aroma of fresh baked biscuits drifted from the opening and closing of the door at The Corn Crib.

Columbus Patman and Butch Jenkins were having their coffee black and their biscuits hot. Between bites and sips, they solved the problems of the word, pushed up from their perches and walked to the counter to pay.

“Columbus and Butch are our resident security,” Ellis said, laughing. “Not that we need it but they are.” As he pocketed his change, Jenkins pointed to a fading photograph of James Wilson who owned and operated the country store at the New Hope crossroads back around the time of the Great Depression.

“Back then, you could get anything you needed and some of what you wanted at the country store,” Jenkins said. “Shoes, motor gas, plow points, a haircut or your teeth pulled.

“One story is that a boy got bitten by a rattlesnake and his folks didn’t have any way to get him to the doctor. Ol’ Mr. Wilson cut an X over the fang marks and sucked the venom out. Saved the boy’s life.”

Ellis said, too, that the old country store was the lifeblood of many communities.

“The old country store was the Walmart of the old days,” he said. “And, it was the gathering place for people in the community. And, that’s the hope for The Corn Crib here at New Hope.”

And, if a constant opening and closing of the store door was any indication, The Corn Crib is, once again, the hub of the New Hope community,

Ellis and Perkins had a vision for what the old country store could be and what it had to be to be successful and they made it happen.

“The store has all been redone,” Ellis said. “A stand of trees were being cut nearby and we got them by hauling them off. Dennie cut the boards and we used the cedar inside and the cypress outside. We used tin in a lot of ways. But, the wood floor is original to the store. It has the look and feel of an old country store. It has character.”

Adding to the “feel” are antique items including a cotton scale, a blackened kettle, a wood stove and small antique and collectible items that are encased in glass. Mounted trophy deer and other wildlife give the store a bit of a man cave feel and provide fodder for a tale or two.

The Corn Crib has a deli in the back that serves breakfast and lunch, six days a week. Lunch specials include a real deal on Fridays — a rib eye, corn on the cob, baked potato and bread for a ten spot.

“We’ve been open a soft five weeks but we didn’t want to try to do too much too soon with the deli,” Ellis said. “What we do, we want to do well. We want our food to always be good and for The Corn Crib to be like country stores used to be – where folks can visit with their neighbors without have to stand around a shopping cart. We want folks to come and sit around and shoot shucks at The Corn Crib.”