Extract from ABC News
The store was founded in 1924 and for many years was one of the town's only retail businesses. (Supplied: Robert Harders)
In short:
A general store that has operated in WA's South West for more than a century has hosted celebrations over the weekend to mark the end of an era.
The once sleepy town of Vasse is now home to several major retail outlets, which Vasse General Store owners say has had a huge impact on their small business.
The store has had just a handful of owners over the century, who each dedicated decades of their lives to the business.
After 102 years, the South West's historic Vasse General Store is closing its doors amid staunch retail competition in the growing residential area.
The century-old business has folded, with owners blaming the arrival of major supermarket, Coles and Vasse Farmers' Market, which is majority owned by Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.
The small business has suffered with big business capitalising on the town's booming population and road traffic generated by tourists travelling to popular locations throughout the region.
The store, originally founded by the McGuiness family in 1924 and located 232 kilometres south of Perth, has had just a handful of owners who each dedicated decades of their lives to taking very special care of the community keystone.
The Vasse General Store has operated for more than a century. (Supplied: Vasse General Store)
The price of progress
Gloria and Neil MacDonald took carriage of the store in 2000, working diligently to keep it afloat for 26 years, choosing to finally shut up shop and retire.
"I'll probably be a bit teary … but I know that I've done the best I can and it's been a great journey," Mrs MacDonald said.
On Saturday, the Vasse General Store hosted a closing celebration, commemorating 26 years of ownership by the MacDonalds and 102 years of operation. (Supplied: Vasse General Store)
The closure comes less than two years after nearby commercial developments were completed, landing Coles, McDonald's, Vasse Village and Shell on the small business's doorstep.
She said the recent explosion of major retailers just a few hundred metres away has impacted the business.
"People want to do a one-stop shop; they don't want to be traipsing around the town,"Mrs MacDonald said.
Gloria and Neil MacDonald are set to retire after the store closes later this week. (Supplied: Vasse General Store)
She said the store still had a lot to offer that major supermarkets could not compete with.
"We got homemade cooking and … [supermarkets] don't fill the gap of the homemade cake," she said.
More than just a general store
For much of its life, the general store was one of a handful of businesses available to Vasse residents, acting as a fuel station, post office, shop and, most importantly, a place for community members to come together.
Mrs Macdonald said acting as a sounding board for customers has long been a part of her job description.
"Things might be rough in their world and they just need a shoulder to cry on and someone that's not going to be judgemental," she said.
"We'll go out the back and have a cup of tea and see if we can sort this out."
Gloria MacDonald says her time at the store has been full of hard work and community connection. (Supplied: Vasse General Store)
Robert Harders sold the store to the MacDonalds in 2000, after running it with his wife Glenis for 17 years.
He said it was the people he connected with that stood out most when he reflected on his time at the store.
"It's the loyalty of the people that we dealt with,' Mr Harders said.
"They weren't [just] customers, they've become family."
Robert Harders, with daughter Nerolee Warhurt, owned the Vasse General Store from 1983 to 2000. (ABC News: Georgia Loney)
A family affair
Mr Harders bought the general store in 1983, relocating his family of five from Perth to the South West, where he still lives today.
He said the store looked very different when he first set foot inside 43 years ago.
"[It had an] old wooden floor and they had the doors that picture-swing inwards and the wind used to whistle through," he said.
"They never had any debit cards or credit cards, so we used to run an account system.
"We made all the concrete on that where the fuel bows are and it still hasn't got any cracks in it so we must have done a pretty good job."
The concrete installed by the Harders Family remains at the Vasse General Store site today more than 40 years later. (Supplied)
Mr Harders's youngest daughter, Neisha Feutrill, had fond memories of her mother, who has since died, playing practical jokes in the shop.
"There's memories of her putting some pretty risque centrefolds in the milk delivery man's books," she said.
"So when he got to the next store, he opened it up and yeah, she had a really wicked sense of humour."
The Vasse General Store in the 1980s under the ownership of Robert and Glenis Harders. (ABC South West: Georgia Loney)
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