Josephine (Gault) Elsey

Taken directly from pages 44 & 45 of Memories of a Community at Turners Station. November is National Family Stories Month.

Joe D. and Olive E. (Pursley) Gault both the store at Turners in 1918. He was raised at the corner of Division Street and Gault Road. She was raised at the corner of Sunshine Street and Gault Road. Joe's parents had been in a country store on Division Street, so he came with a background in merchandising. He was appointed postmaster in 1918.
The building was a wooden structure at that time with living quarters above the store. A fire destroyed the entire building in 1923, but neighbors came to them and offered to donate field stones to rebuild. Joe and Olive agreed to this and accepted the services of Tom Studley to be the builder. He took out is fee in groceries and supplies.

​Grocery routes had been started, and Joe's brother, George Gault and his wife, Thelma, would help out on "Route Days."
Joe was called into service during World War I, so Olive's brother, Arthur Pursley, was asked to come back from Hays, Kansas, to help in the store. A few years later, he was asked to become a partner, and the store was named Gault & Pursley General Merchandise.
During the time Joe was in service, Olive was appointed Postmaster and held that position for 27 years.
During the Depression, times were difficult for the community. Often bills were paid with produce, livestock, and poultry. Merchandise was varied, and the store was a one-stop convenience.
There was lots of socializing each evening, as the store stayed open until 10:00 p.m. or later. Families came to buy supplies and stayed to visit. An unexpected treat occurred when a farmer, who had butchered hogs that day, brought tubs of pork to be ground and seasoned. A skillet of sausage was then cooked on the big stove at the back of the store. Very few refused this winter snack.
Grocery routes included bringing supplies to the customers and picking up their cream and milk to be sold at Marshfield, Missouri. A telephone line to their homes was built by volunteers, and a code system of "long and shorts" designated the call being placed.
Many local young boys worked for spending money at the store. The longest employed boy was Carl "Buck" Daniel. Another brother of Olive, Bill Pursley, worked a long time for them.
Morning passenger trains would bring people to Turners for a day in the country. The evening train, going back to Springfield, would pick them up at the depot. One Sunday, Joe sold 253 tickets to passengers.
The mail was picked up twice a day by placing it in a mail-bag and hanging it on a crane at the edge of the tracks. A long hook, used by the trains' mail-clerk, grabbed the sack as the train passed through. If a big package needed to be sent, a flag was used to signal the train to stop and pick up the mail.
No wholesale delivery trucks were around in the early part of the store's operation, so feed was brought in by the train. A pet rooster at the store always knew when grain was unloaded and managed to be over by the tracks to feed on the spilled bits.
A large generator supplied power to the store. An icehouse kept big block so ice for the homes' iceboxes. Many bulk items had to be packaged into small containers or sacks for sales to customers.
During 1943 a group of Republicans came to Joe and encouraged him to enter country politics. He agreed to this, so the store's merchandise was sold.
Joe had four successful terms as Greene County Treasurer. Due to health problems, he retired in 1961. He continued to serve on the Logan-Rogersville School Board until his health forced him to give up this position. He died in 1967.
Olive continue to live next-door to their store. At 94, her health had limited her, but she enjoyed her home in the country. In earlier years, she was active in quilting sessions of the Ladies Aid, being a 4-H leader, and being involved in the Crescent Extension Club. In 1989 she was honored as being a 50-year chartered member. She died in 1989.
Two daughters, Josephine and Emilie, have retired from the Springfield School System. Two grandchildren, Jody Rogers and Jill Elsey-Stoner, continue to live at Turners. Jill now operates the store. Her daughter, Candace, is a special little girl to the family.