The Country Store in rural Minnesota during the Great Depression became a focus of the community, along with the one-room Country School and Prairie Lutheran Church. Then a binge of publicity occurred when a 4th grade student wanted to get a 1-cent candy bar as a birthday present for his younger brother. Lacking a penny, he had to sign an I.O.U. (though not seriously expected to be redeemed by the Country Store). Meanwhile, more news when a desperate young hobo from the freight train was found hiding in the basement of the nearby Country School, and he was captured in a "stakeout." But in the spirit of the New Deal of the Great Depression, he benefited from an appealing choice--sign up for the new Civilian Conservation Corps instead of going to prison for a petty crime. So the community also welcomed this "work-release" option to allow the young offender to work and earn and learn in a CCC project.
