The "Mystery of the Second Floor Door" is solved.
Back in the Catskill Mountains this past sunday, I had no expectations at all of finding Margaret's country store in Conesville open, but the lights were on, and she was sitting behind the counter when I stopped in for the obligatory Klondike bar. She didn't look good with one eye patched up from surgery, and she did not seem to recognize me.
We chatted a bit about this and that, then I asked her how old the building might be. "YOU ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS !!", Margaret scolded, sounding like a mother who had just caught her child with his hand in the cookie jar. So, I changed the drift of the conversation, complimenting her on the cute birds cage cornices of the building, and her nice collection of 1980's VCR rental tapes:
"They aren't rentals, I sell them. And I just sold 5 of them today." she said, seeming very pleased with her success. "But I don't have many left, like the other merchandise. Not much left to sell you know. Its not worth restocking"
Margaret began to talk at great length about living alone, struggling to keep up the shop, and about how History is so important to preserve. Funny, it was just ten minutes ago that she shut me down about my historical question.
I asked, "I've stopped by lately, and found your shop closed. I've been concerned about you." "I"M ALWAYS OPEN !!" Margaret replied, loudly. ............."Except Wednesdays, ...................and when I'm not well. I've been sick, lately".
I asked if I could take her picture, and she barked, "I DON'T LOOK GOOD!," but she let me take a picture of a framed photo of her and her grandkids (grandkids?? I was confused, but let it go).
I asked where I could toss the Klondike wrapper, and then spotted this wonderful 40's (?) era metal wastebasket with a foot-push bar to flip the lid:
"Oh My God, what a great trash bin !" I said. "EVERYONE WANTS MY WASTEBASKET !!", Margaret replied. I chose to not make her an offer. She said that she was going to die, and it will still be right there, in the corner. "I don't like it, but no one else is going to get it," she said.
And the Second Floor Door ? The place used to be a feed store, and they loaded grain and other such merch through it.