All six of the villages that have existed in Chester Township contained some type of general store.  The category of the businesses varied from establishment to establishment.  They carried such labels as:  dry goods and grocery, mercantile, general store, and grocery.  They all carried a line of food items as well as other merchandise.  During the early years, the perishable items were entirely supplied by local farmers.  Even in later years, many of the businesses continued to purchase such things as eggs and vegetables from area farmers.

Harris Mercantile, J. H. Hoogstraat, and Wilson McWilliams opened the first general stores in the village of Conklin.  Other businessmen to operate general stores were:  R. H. Smith Mercantile, W. T. McNitt, J. W. Cazier, J. R. Pixley, W. A. Lovelace, S. R. Holland, E. O. Willard, and Frank Ostrander.  More recent businesses that dealt primarily in groceries were:  Courtade Grocery; Marvin Smith’s IGA and later Everet Peterson’s IGA; and Doug Borns’ Market.  The building occupied by the IGA store is now owned by Dykstra’s Elevator and used for storage.  Doug Borns’ Market was purchased and became Collison’s Food Store, then the Conklin Food Cooperative.  When the Conklin Food Cooperative closed, the building was vacant for several years.  Later purchased by Steve Dietrich, it now is the home of the Conklin Party & Video store.

The following excerpt is from an article in the July 31, 1931 Coopersville Observer.

“About three years ago Mr. McNitt felt the urge to return to the home fields of the clan McNitt and opportunity presented itself in Conklin. He was fortunate in being able to secure the large and well lighted brick store room formerly occupied by R. H. Smith Mercantile Co., and the wide knowledge of merchandising gained during his experience as salesman and in the conduct of his Grand Rapids business has stood him in good stead in his business venture in Conklin.

In his store there is abundant opportunity for the display of his choice and varied stock of merchandise and he has utilized this opportunity to the utmost with the result that he has given his customers a store that is up to the minute both in quality of goods handled and in present day merchandising methods. He believes in putting the goods he has for sale where the prospective customer can see for themselves and this belief he has put into practice. His method of doing business is meeting with the success it warrants.”

“Conklin’s oldest merchant, in point of service, is William A. Lovelace, proprietor of one of the most popular general merchandise stores of the village. The business which he conducts is also one of the first to be established in Conklin, it having been in the hands of a number of the first men to locate in the village before being purchased by Mr. Lovelace. Mr. Lovelace is a native of Pennsylvania, but migrated to Michigan fifty-three years ago. He made his home at Lilley, Newaygo County for some time, coming to Conklin thirty years ago. He has been in business there ever since and has succeeded in making a host of friends for himself and his place of business by his never-failing courtesy to those with whom he comes in contact and by his policy of fair prices and honest dealing which has been the unswerving rule through all the years he has been catering to the public.

Coming to Conklin, he was for a short time proprietor of a meat market, leaving that line to take over the store which he has conducted since that time.

In the store of Mr. Lovelace may be found a large and varied stock of general merchandise all clean, new goods, properly arranged and displayed with the idea of creating in the minds of the prospective buyer a desire for his goods.

This business institution has been under the control of a number of men before coming into the hands of Mr. Lovelace. Wilson McWilliams, John W. Cazier, J. R. Pixley and then John H. Hoogstraat, of whom Mr. Lovelace purchased the business, have been in charge of this popular store during the many years it has been conducted in the village and their names are closely connected with the business and social life of the community.”