ELBERTA — A piece of Elberta history was honored during Sunday’s annual meeting of the Baldwin County Heritage Museum, as the General Store exhibit was dedicated.

On hand for the dedication was Charles “Bud” Koehler, whose family-owned business, the Elberta Feed Store, inspired the exhibit. A former Museum Board member who retired in February 2012, Koehler was also recognized for his service to the non-profit organization that preserves Baldwin County’s history.

Koehler’s part in that history begins with Erwin and Gertrude Koehler, to whom the exhibit is dedicated.

“Erwin A. Koehler opened the Elberta Feed Store in about 1938,” museum information states. “He started with Wayne Feeds.”

In addition, the store housed a gas pump from the Pure Oil Company.

“Gas was pumped up by an attendant,” the information states. “Oil was measured out with a quart-measuring can.”

The structure gives museum attendees a glimpse of what it was like to shop in early 20th century Baldwin, with few choices and clerks or store owners making selections of items fromna list provided by the customer.

“There were not several different brands of canned vegetables from which to choose,” the information states. “Stores carried the basics. One brand of each vegetable or item, such as tomatoes, tomato paste, peas, beans, coffee, tea, grits, toilet paper, baking powder, soda, tooth paste, etc.”

According to the museum’s annual report, the General Store exhibit was made possible by the Snook Foundation, Jim Lorenz and the Koehler family.

Sunday’s meeting also included naming Joe Salzmann Volunteer of the year. In addition, five more volunteers were recognized for contributing more than 1,000 hours of work to the museum in 2012. They include: Gary and Nancy Durgin, Jim Lorenz, Jim Mueller and Coletta Bailey.