JOHNSON GENERAL MERCHANDISE

Castella, California

A two-story wooden framed building facing the railroad tracks and the Sacramento River was the business of Amos Johnson.  Johnson General Merchandise store was down stairs and a sign hanging from the second story invited the traveler to stay at the Hotel Castella. Painted on the front of the building was large sign advertising ACME BEER.

The interior of the store was covered with almost any type of supply a person would need. The store with its wooden ladder on a track ran down one side of the wall leading to a second loft high above. The store was a wonderland of candy, ice cream and toys. A monster slot machine with its pull arm reaching out for someone to pull and watch the cherries roll into action. Sometime you won and then most of the time you did not. Hats, shoes, saws, guns, mining equipment and everything from livestock medicines to shoelaces covered the shelves of the store. If a kid had a nickel, Amos treated him or her like a regular customer. But an unfunded browser was not made welcome. 

Amos Johnson provided the only movies you could see in Castella. Amos would set up the movie projector and show the great movies of the era. Friday and Saturday night the people of Castella would come to Amos Johnson's and watch a movie and then walk home in the dark.

Marshall A. Robinson of Sweetbriar tells the story of the time when Stanley Jacox and himself were eleven years old and they had bought a ten-cent park of Wings cigarettes from the store.  Then after getting sick offered the rest back to Amos, he took the pack and gave each of them a candy and told them that had just learned a valuable lesson: That was Amos Johnson.