A photograph of the W. B. Johns General Store at the southeast corner of Main Street and the Crossroads (Oakdale Station Road), Loyalton, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania,. At first, Wayne B. Johns conducted business on the northwest corner of the same intersection with his partner William Lewis Hoffman, but after a disagreement, the partnership dissolved and Wayne went into business for himself on the diagonally opposite corner.
The building was erected about 1904 specifically to house the store and Johns family. However, the top floor was leased to the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America. It cannot be seen clearly from this view, but “P. O. S. of A.” is painted on the upper windows.
After operating the store for about 10 years, Wayne B. Johns and his wife Emma sold the building and business to Daniel Helt and his wife Adeline [Snyder] Helt. Then, on 1 April 1920, the building was sold to Adeline’s brother Harvey H. Snyder and his wife Jennie [Miller] Snyder who began operating it as H. H. Snyder General Store. The Snyder’s operated the store together until Harvey died in 1948 and the store was then conveyed to their daughter Amy [Snyder] Bechtel (1893-1975) and her husband Clayton Bechtel (1893-1951), who had been operating a huckster route for the the Snyder store. One day in 1951, Clayton returned home ill from the huckster route and died on the couch of a heart attack. Afterward, their son Edward Bechtel (1923-1963) operated the huckster route, and Amy operated the store with the help of Melva Sitlinger, who had taken over the duties of Postmaster of Loyalton in 1940.
The above photograph shows members of the Johns family standing in front of the store. At this time, none are identified.
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