The Fellsmere Cash Grocery Store
The original Fellsmere Cash grocery store was located at the southwest corner of Broadway and South Carolina Avenue.1 On Monday, February 21, 1916, grocer R.E. Brown bought the Fellsmere Cash Grocery and on the day after, Tuesday, February 22, 1916, he traded it to McClure and Baker in exchange for their meat business. On Wednesday, February 23, 1916, McClure and Baker sold the Fellsmere Cash Grocery to H.M. Rector.
The Fellsmere Cash Grocery was relocated by Sam Mensh to 106 North Broadway, the northwest corner of Broadway and New York Avenue. It was on the north side of a duplex which housed the Max Mensch Dry Goods store on the south side which later became the Ingraham’s Department Store in 1951.2 Of note, Sam Mensch was elected as Mayor of Fellsmere on February 7, 1934, to serve a two-year term.3
In 1930, Joseph “Joe” Bussey, at age 19, started working as a butcher for Sam Mensch at the Fellsmere Cash Grocery.4 On April 1, 1933, Joe, age 21, married Dorothy E. Jones, age 20.5 On May 5, 1944, Sam Mensch placed an announcement in the paper that read “Effective May 8, 1944, the Fellsmere Cash Grocery will be operated under the management of J. H. Bussey who has almost eleven years experience with the firm and plans are being made to give you a bigger and better store under his able management. The store would be remodeled but WILL NOT be closed during alterations”.6
Joe managed the store for six years and then on Christmas Eve 1950, the old wooden store burned down. Ingraham’s Department Store alongside of it also burned to the ground.7 There was a vacant grocery store building on North Broadway that had a meat cooler in it. The day after the fire, Joe Bussey was back in business. The grocery wholesalers, the meat packers, and the cold drink suppliers all made special deliveries to put Joe back in business.8
On August 28, 1951, Joe Bussey bought the grocery store.9 Joe became a respected businessman in Fellsmere. Ruth Green, a resident of Fellsmere who came to town in 1924, said “Joe Bussey worked for the Mensches and later bought them out. Without him, I don’t think Fellsmere would have made it. He was such a good man. He was ready to hand out groceries if anybody needed them. He even made breakfast for a woman who couldn’t manage on her own.” 10
Using insurance money and money he had saved, Joe Bussey had “a new fireproof building” built in 1952 using concrete blocks instead of wood.11
Joe Bussey was appointed as a member of the Fellsmere City Council on November 4, 1960, to fill the unexpired term of Frank Moon who resigned on September 9, 1960.12 Bussey was elected on February 7, 1962, for a two year term on the Council, and served as Acting Mayor of Fellsmere on July 26th and August 6, 1965.13 Joe Bussey was elected again on February 2, 1966 and served until February 9, 1968.14
Joe and Dorothy Bussey had a son, James, and a daughter, Mary Jo. Their daughter, Mary Jo, married Talmadge Grayson Screws on August 30, 1953.15 On March 19, 1971, Grayson and Mary Jo Bussey Screws incorporated the Fellsmere Cash Grocery, and purchased the building from Joe and Dorothy Bussey.16 Joe Bussey had a heart attack and decided to sell the store. He had worked there for 30 years. Joe died on January 3, 1974, at age 62, less than three years after selling the Fellsmere Cash Grocery.17
On July 18, 1973, the Fellsmere Cash grocery was sold to Earl and Jeanne Witherby.18 It has had a succession of owners since, the latest owner as of this writing is DP & P, Inc.19
Today the store is just known as the Fellsmere Grocery. The word “Cash” is covered over by the words “Fellsmere” and “Grocery” on the sign on the front of the building. The store is very popular with Fellsmere residents and the locals call it “El Primo” (The Cousin).