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Murdock's Produce, a Troutman landmark, now just a memory
Bruce Matlock photo
Murdock's Produce Stand saw its last sunset at U.S. Highway 21 and Old Mountain Road on Tuesday afternoon.
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Published: October 22, 2009
Priscilla Nicholson stood quietly as she watched the claw from the excavator rise. Its sharp metal claws pointed forward before coming down abruptly and tearing into her father's produce stand.
"Oh Lordy, it's starting," said Nicholson, with a small sigh.
Residents making their way through town for their morning commute down Main Street craned their necks to get a better look at the destruction of a town staple, Murdock's Produce.
The shelves, once filled with cheese, old-fashioned preserves and jams, fresh produce and little toys and knickknacks Edwin "Ed" Murdock acquired through the years, were now empty and being pulled apart.
The collection of buildings Murdock patched together over the past 27 years was a landmark in the small town. Drivers could practically watch the seasons change by the type of produce and flowers sold in the outdoor sheds and bins.
As Murdock's children and two of his grandchildren watched the green shelves tear apart Wednesday, they swapped stories about him, his business partner David Brown, gold coins and time spent loading and unloading cantaloupe.
It was simply time to close, Nicholson said, watching the machine operator try to shake a metal door off the claw.
Murdock died in September 2008. Brown ran the shop until two weeks ago.
Murdock's daughter, Karen Knox, said Brown is retiring and decided to go to the beach rather than watch the demolition.
"There goes that trailer," said Knox. "It's like a dinosaur eating."
The produce stand, as the children discovered, was nothing short of an engineering marvel, Knox said.
After Hurricane Hugo hit, the only damage to the stand was a tin panel torn off the roof. Knox said her father told her he built the building to last.
When family members were packing up the remaining items at the stand, they discovered the RC Cola trailer was welded to the rest of the building.
"It's kind of like a giant jigsaw puzzle," Knox said.
Nicholson said their father was always willing to help out people in the community. He used to give produce to people who lost their jobs, and donated money and produce to charities.
If a customer came in to ask Murdock if his produce was fresh, he would cut open a tomato or melon.
"He had a big gift of gab," said Knox.
Customers, especially the older ones, liked to come in and talk to Murdock. Knox said Murdock loved to tell stories, like when he was 10 and loaded up his red wagon with produce to sell to his neighbors.
For the children, he kept a supply of Sacagawea golden dollars to hand out if they said they were nice to their grandparents.
Produce seemed to stick with him throughout his life, said Murdock's son, Gayle.
"Sometimes in life, you retreat back to where you started," he said. "This made our father really happy."
Murdock was born and raised in Troutman. As a Navy veteran who fought in World War II, he went into the produce business with his father in a store off Center Street in Statesville until 1974.
Throughout the years he worked for various produce wholesalers, but settled at the small strip of land on the side on Main Street that he rented from his friend, Jack Raymer.
In the early years, Murdock grew a lot of the produce sold at the stand. His wife, Mildred, would work alongside him.
Knox said he liked to plant items, but eventually, running the produce stand took up too much of his time.
Knox said her father closed the stand every winter until her daughter, Megan, died during a trip to Mexico. After that, he kept the store open with a few odds and ends so he could see his friends, and kept a plastic container for a scholarship fund in Megan's name, Knox said.
"We'll miss it, that is for sure," said Chad Nicholson, Murdock's grandson.
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