About

I’m Lisa Isbell and I run the place.  I started this website in 2007 after selling on eBay for many years.  The General Mercantile here is a place where you will find a little bit of everything. The mix changes all the time, just the way the local mercantile would have in small towns all across America many years ago according to what’s available as the seasons change.

The blog features a category called Ad Libitum – Latin for “as it pleases” and it’s where I write about pretty much anything I’m interested in talking about.  I’m a nostalgic type and I guess I like to muck around in the past a lot – mine and everybody else’s.  I like genealogy and exploring about traditions.  I enjoy history, a good bargain when I can find one and a hands-on approach to life – as in making things to enjoy at home.  Sometimes I like to explore different types of hobbies and crafts in my posts figuring I might as well document the things I try.

Part of my genealogy exploration is the coal mining town of Ward, WV.  I guess you might say most of my family tree research starts with that place.  My mother was born and raised there and so were three of my grandparents.  I’ve always enjoyed the stories about their childhoods there and am impressed that people still gather for a community reunion each September even though the physical presence of the little town has been gone for over 30 years.

All of these things are by category in  my blog.