If you’ve been in New Iberia since before 1972, you probably remember Edmond Pellerin General Merchandise.

Although it had a modest appearance, sporting a screened in porch and steep, metal stairs, the store earned a reputation for carrying a little bit of everything.

“One of the sayings that people would say about the store was: ‘If you can’t find it anywhere in New Iberia, go to Pellerin’s. He would most probably have it,’” Darryl Pellerin, the grandson of Edmond J. Pellerin Jr., said.

And indeed it did. Pellerin’s sold just about anything one needed for a home back then including, but not limited to, pots, pans, brooms, mops, clothing, shoes, boots, buttons, glass, lumber, nails and hammers, according to Darryl Pellerin.

Nanette DeRouen Kibbe, a longtime resident of New Iberia, said she had pleasant memories buying sewing supplies with her grandmother from the store.

“I have vivid memories of that store, going there probably at least once a week, several times a month with my grandmother who lived next door,” Kibbe said. “It (was) just a wonderful store.”

Edmond J. Pellerin Jr. and his wife, Felecione Hebert Pellerin, ran the store together six days a week, making a point to never run the store on Sundays. Darryl Pellerin’s father, Willis J. Pellerin, would even deliver groceries from the store on his bike.

“I think that many older generations would like to see a store like this with such personality and love that they gave to everyone,” Darryl Pellerin said.

According to Darryl Pellerin, the store was immensely popular in its heyday, but, sadly, it couldn’t last forever.

The store’s run came to a tragic end when Edmond Pellerin, who Darryl Pellerin lovingly referred to as Pa Pop, died in 1972, leaving this icon of simple living and close knit communities in the hands of an auctioneer who completely liquidated the store.

Today 932 Providence St., the former site of the once successful superstore prototype, is a relic of its former self, serving as just another residential building, according to Darryl Pellerin.

Kibbe said the loss of the store, along with many other mom and pop shops represented a larger shift in community culture stretching far beyond just New Iberia.

“When I was growing up, we knew our neighbors. We played in the neighborhood. We walked to school and back. We walked a couple of blocks away from home or rode our bikes, some blocks away from home to play with our friends. You really don’t do that anymore,” she said. “People are more aware of the hazards.”

Darryl Pellerin agreed.

“There were not enemies in those days,” he said. “(That’s) wishful thinking for these days.”

Despite this, Kibbe said the spirit of Edmond Pellerin General Merchandise and the desire for simplicity that it represented is still alive in South Louisiana to some degree.

“I think it’s in the spirit of the location in South Louisiana. St. Martin Parish has always had a concept similar to that and Lafayette Parish for sure,” she said. “I think that there will always be the concept of simplicity.”