G&R Grocery and its ever-present owner, Edward Ragsdale, are institutions on the San Saba square. In this era of chain stores and frequent career changes, they have both survived decades of challenges, and in doing so, have helped their town retain its own unique character.

The Ragsdale family has a long history in the grocery business. Edward’s grandfather came to San Saba from Hamilton County in the 1920s and ran the Thorp Grocery on the square for many years. His father worked as a meat-cutter for the Jeff Byrd Grocery in the ‘40s, and got him a job working Saturday mornings at age 9! “I got $2 a day,” Ragsdale remembers, “and my dad paid half of that.” Edward proved to be a good worker, and his hours increased as he grew older. During high school, he worked in the afternoons and on Saturdays, then full-time after he graduated. When Jeff Byrd retired in 1972, Edward and an older co-worker named Pudge Gage bought the business and re-named it G&R Grocery.

The partnership worked well; Pudge kept the books and handled the business end, while Edward managed the store. They were soon able to buy the building next door and double the size of the store. Other independent grocers in town were not so fortunate; G&R is the only one of at least ten stores that were in business when Ragsdale began his career. Today there is a Super S and several convenience stores, but no other independent grocer.

Those changes sadden Ragsdale. “Small businesses are what built this country,” he says. “Dedication and respect for customers, and their loyalty in return is what keeps a small town going.”

The grocery business has changed tremendously during Ragsdale’s career. Where a small grocery store used to carry a hundred products, “now we have thousands, but we still don’t have everything.”

But it’s not just the businesses that have changed. Ragsdale recalls that “not long ago, customers would have coupons arrange ...

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