| Description |
as a dance hall, movie house, and a skating rink. Along the south wall a wooden staircase, long since removed, provided access to the second floor when the store below was closed. For many years a granary stood at the rear of the Merc, and it was here that grain and other produce were stored after being taken in exchange for groceries and other supplies. When the old building was torn down, the metal plate which had proudly proclaimed the name "Fairview Co-operative Institution" from the structure's highest point for all these many years, was removed and taken to the Fairview Museum where it will stand as a reminder of the city's past. With the tearing down of the old structure, Fairview has changed. The atmosphere once heard described by a tourist as "quaint" will, in part, be gone, as time brings inevitable change to the main street of the city. Old-timers will hold fond memories of the good times they had there and of the sounds of laughter and music which once drifted on the evening air from the upstairs windows. Even the younger residents will remember buying "penny candy" at the old Merc. The business spanned almost one hundred years of the town's history, and the old Merc building stood for over three quarters of that time. With its demise the face of the city has changed. A tie to Fairview's early days is gone, but in the hearts of the town's residents the indelible mark left by the old structure will live on. Sources: Interview with Golden Sanderson, curator, Fairview Museum The History of Fairview, Utah and Its Surrounding Area (unpublished), by Allie L. Carlston and his wife Rosalin in the collection of the Fairview Museum Personal knowledge The Fairview Mercantile was destroyed by fire in February, 1977. -80- |
