As you may have noticed in May our website shut down for construction.  As a first website it served us well but as our building and store expanded we were in need of a new website and so began a very interesting and enlightening journey.  With the ever-changing technology all around us it was necessary to take on help with this project for which we enlisted Shawn Tooley of northcountrydesign.us.  With his guiding hand we began on paper to help us map out a better more user-friendly site that meets our online goals.  

Although we will look a little different, we still sell the same quality locally made merchandise that we always have.  Some of the items we have carried in the past have not be put on sale on the internet immediately but don't worry most of them will be back.  If you have purchased or seen an item on our website that isn't there anymore feel free to give us a call at the store or drop us an email.  Along with the remaining Amish items to be uploaded, our store has expanded to offer new items.  As we continue to grow we are always looking for new lines of locally made products which will eventually be featured on our site.

We also now will offer PayPal to give our customers the added confidence of making credit card purchases with the security of the PayPal Company.  It is always important that visitors to our site feel as comfortable with us as our in-store customers that can come right up to the counter with questions and purchases.  Although we cannot offer the round the clock customer service of a big company we always welcome customers to call the store during store hours and chat with us or drop us an email with any questions or concerns.  We have a very small staff that you can call here at the store between 9am and 5pm (Eastern Time) Monday through Saturday.  Linda W., Betsy, Linda M., and Debbie would be glad to help in any way that they can.

Saving our building was the main inspiration for our store as well as cultivating our local small town economy.  With our new site we will be able to update everyone on the renovation process as well as included everyone in the journey from empty building to fully restored store, opera hall, and museum.  Our new site will feature frequent updates as well as photos of the progress.  It will also include an interactive calendar to keep customers and visitors abreast of current fundraising events and celebrations in store.  It will also allow us to show our in store schedule of fresh food deliveries of homemade Amish bread and locally made fresh cheese curd.  

Pickens General Store is so much more than just the Amish products that we sell and this new site will help share the rich history of our building, our Amish, and our community.  The online community that we hope to create will serve to better educate people on our local Amish and their unique culture and incredible talents.  It will also serve to gain support for our restoration project which will eventually provide our community with a museum and performance hall.  As we approach the next big step in our fundraising and construction it is more important than ever to stay connected to our supporters and volunteers both local and out of towners.

On the second floor we have been busy as well.  In March we hosted an Acoustic Irish Music jam with local musicians playing and the audience singing along to some of our favorite Irish folk music.  The evening also marked the start of a new spring display of tools and historical objects in our mini museum.  The featured display is on loan from the Backus family.  We were overjoyed with the turn out, having almost 150 people visit and share in the festivities.  It was a truly wonderful night for everyone here at Pickens.  We would also like to thank everyone that put money in the basket that was passed; your donations make community events like this possible!

For more information or questions contact Betsy H. at Pickens General by email bhebert@pickensgeneral.org or give the store girls a call at 315 344 7950