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him to withdraw. Glenn Nininger became the next

proprietor in 1977. Today he sells used cars along with the general auto repair business. At this time, the 218 property was leased to the Economy Oil Company of Frederick, Md. (Richard R. Kline, Pres.) It was subleased to Paul Stroup who operated it as Brunswick Mobil. Today a body shop and car lot occupy this site which was recently purchased by Robert Huffer. Both buildings suffered devastating fires in the 1960's within months; 302 was completely demolished, and half of 218 was saved. After being rebuilt, 302 is still in business, as is the building at 218 Petersville Road, which is now about half of its original size.

of the owner, had to go down and turn the cheese every 30 days. The cheese slicer was like a turntable with a latch to raise the cheese to vary the amount by weight to be cut off with a large blade that went up and down like a paper cutter. Suspenders were a big item, as were Ball Brand Boots and Buster Brown Shoes. One Christmas as the family ate dinner, Ed Shafer, the mayor wanted a pair of suspenders. The business man accommodated his customer, then returned to the table and family. The flood of 1924 visited Brunswick and dealt a striking blow to the economy of the town and the store. Around 1925 the drug store moved from the Gross building, so the owner used that room for overalls, glassware, and dishes. The dentist left about the same time. When the founder of the store died in 1930, son Charles, who had been working with the bottled gas and radio part of the business, and Lynch, who was handling the grocery business, were knowledgeable enough to continue. The death knell tolled for both the general merchandising and grocery business. By 1933, merchandising in general was in a nationwide depression; people were unable to pay even for what they needed. Chain stores, specifically the A&P, came to town, hurting all local independent groceries. Business had left the Berlin location, moving to Potomac Street away from the dirt and noise. During the Depression, the loss of LCL (Less than Carload Lots) was another blow to Brunswick. This took many men from the town to a new place of operation in Washington. Although the William L. Gross enterprise died, Charles continued selling and servicing radios, and selling bottled gas. In 1934 young William B. Gross left teaching and joined Charles, adding appliances, plumbing and heating. The Phoenix rose from the ashes. Gross Brothers (Charles and Bill) joined the exodus from the Berlin business area. Around 1934 they opened shop in Abie Ellin's building at 19 East Potomac Street (now Dr. Rojewski's). When Ellin sold his building to Dr. Edmunds, Gross Brothers moved to the storeroom behind the old Bank of Brunswick. All this time the original home of the Gross Store was used as a warehouse but was otherwise deserted. When the Bank of Brunswick area was tom down in 1956, the Gross business came full cycle to its place of origin on South Maryland Avenue. Several long-time employees of the Gross business should be recalled. Miss Anna Care began

S - Connie T. Grams - Bill Grams W - Connie T. Grams

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GROSS BROTHERS Mr. William Lynch Gross was a pioneer in settling Brunswick. He came here in 1877 from a farm at the intersection of Route 464 and Lander Road. He started a small grocery store on Virginia A venue south of the westbound tracks. The flood of 1889 washed him out,but he reopened in a house (since tom down) on Virginia Avenue, north of the tracks. About 1893, he built the present Gross building, at a time when the westbound yards were being built in the east end of town. (A description of the store was included in Chapter 3 (Community) headed "The Gross Store"). There was a second building to the rear of the store, torn down in 1934 to make way for a doubledecker garage with a ten-car capacity. General store business techniques then differed from today's. Ladies corsets were a popular item. Gross stocked boxes of them. He would "size the woman up" at a glance, unfold a likely garment, hold it around her, then conclude the sale. The large attic was a "catch-all," which was indispensible for storing off-season equipment. The basement was vital as a cool storage area before refrigerators were mandated for perishables. Butter, molasses, fish, pickles, potatoes, and cheese were among the items stored there. Gross would buy about 50 wheels of rat-trap cheese to season or age there. The cheese was made in Ohio and upper New York, and the large quantity gave a better price. Lynch and William Gross, sons

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