Robert "Bob" M. Britt was working in Panuco, Vera Cruz, Mexico, when his father told him about a pretty young American girl whose family managed a boarding house in nearby Tampico.
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Robert Britt in front of the Britt Store |
Bob met and later married Delaine Snell in 1918. Life was easier and happier for Bob after finding work in the oil fields and after his marriage. He and Delaine even bought a second hand Model "T" Ford, in 1919.
About 1926, Bob and his wife, Delaine, bought the "general store" in Chamal from Delaine's father and mother, William and Clementine Snell. Delanie was happy to be back in Chamal where most of her relatives lived, to be able to send her daughters to an American school and to live among more Americans.
The general store was small but allowed the Britts to meet most of the people of the valley and pass on the latest news. There was no electricity in the valley, but Bob had a battery-powered radio and could listen to American news on WOAI out of San Antonio, Texas.
Behind and attached to the store was the Britt's living quarters and kitchen. Many of their American friends would come in to shop, and then just walk into the back of the store to visit or possibly to get a cup of coffee. Living in a foreign county, it seemed like all of the Americans were an "extended family" and depended on each other for support.
Like the other Chamal families, water came from their own well right behind their home. The water had to be carried inside for there was no indoor plumbing. Cooking was done over a woodstove and lights came from kerosene lamps.
The store's customers were a mixture of people that lived in the valley, both Americans and natives, so they carried products for both. The store sold food staples, such as coffee, beans, corn meal, and a few canned goods. Mexican made Coca-Cola was popular sold by the bottle and at room temperature. They carried and sold men's work clothes and shoes. Cloth was sold by the yard for the women to use in making clothing. They also sold household items like soap and toothpaste.
Many supplies were bought in bulk and resold in smaller quantities. An example was quinine, used to treat malaria. They bought it by the kilo, and then the two daughters filled capsules with it that sold individually. Prescriptions were not required so the medicines, many from Germany, were just sold over the counter as requested.
Delaine was very good talking and helping customers, and Bob was better at the business side of buying, budgeting and paying bills. The family worked hard in the store, with everyone working, even the children. From time to time they hired a cook to help in the house and with the children.
A usual day for the family began about daylight. Bob would bring in the family cow from the pasture to be milked by Delaine. The chickens would be fed. Breakfast was usually served before they opened the store for business. There were no set hours, everyone just started working based on when the sun rose and set. Stocking, cleaning and selling to customers was an all day job. The store did not close for lunch, so they ate when there were no customers. The store usually closed in the late afternoon when they guessed that there would not be any more customers for the day. The store was open six days a week and closed on Sunday.
On Sundays Bob traveled to El Lemon or Cuidad Mante to buy supplies from wholesalers. Some of the goods were delivered by truck at a later time.
The day wound down with the second milking and feeding the cows after the store closed. After the animals were fed and other household chores completed they ate supper. After supper they listened to American radio broadcasts from WOAI in San Antonio, Texas. This lasted until bedtime.
Every April, the Britts took a two-week vacation to San Antonio, Texas. Ahead of time they told all of the customers that they would be closing the store for two weeks and to stock up on what they needed. Bob would hire a "watchman" to stay at the store/living quarters while they were away, just to keep an eye on everything and feed the animals while they were gone.
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L-R Dicey Keaton son, Delanie, Nellie & Bob Britt, Everts Storms (sitting) |
They took their children out of school for the two weeks, but their teacher knew that the kids would learn a lot more on their vacation, visiting museums, sightseeing and traveling than they would learn by staying in school. So there was not an issue with them being out for two weeks. There they enjoyed many offerings not available in Chamal like movies, hamburgers and ice cream.
The Britts were not "rich," but they were one of the first in Chamal to have a car. They were also the first in Chamal to have a telephone. That was in about 1935. The telephone was in the store, but being the only phone in the valley, there wasn't anyone nearby to call. Family and friends in the valley used it if someone died or got sick or if it was necessary to call and pass emergency messages to and from Chamal.
FChamal did not have any restaurants or hotels. The Britt store was a favorite gathering place for travelers to Chamal to visit, buy food and some even stayed with them.
Everts Storms often visited and sometimes stayed for weeks. Everts helped many of the Americans with legal matters on his trips to Chamal. Bob even bought Everts a "Mexican" typewriter and kept it at the store for Everts to use when he came.
Bob and Delaine feared another revolution in Mexico; consequently they sold the store and moved with their three children to San Antonio, Texas, in June of 1937. There they continued their business ways running a store.
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