Hancock's Store

More than a store

Hancock's was the kind of independent country store where customers could purchase groceries, candy, tobacco products, small household necessities, and other everyday items. Its long life made it a constant in Hill Valley, remaining open seven days a week late in its history. Newspaper coverage described it as an institution for residents of the valley.

A 1985 anniversary profile described shelves stocked with bread, milk, cakes and other groceries alongside shoes, boots and automobile accessories. If a customer needed something unusual, the article suggested, Hancock's probably had it. John also remembered salt fish selling for about fifteen cents a pound during the 1930s and large bags of candy selling for ten cents around the store's opening year.

John worked nights at the Harbison-Walker brickyard for five years while also operating the general store. He later shared his knowledge of Hill Valley's past and supported community organizations. Area baseball teams benefited from a playing field maintained on his property.

From a small shop to a Hill Valley landmark

John purchased his first store building from Art Allenbaugh Sr. The building stood not far from the later store on property that the 1985 article identified as then belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Dan Hancock. Within three years the business had outgrown that first building, and the replacement shop was constructed in 1938. The service station sold Amoco gasoline at that time; by 1985 the business was known as Hancock's Exxon Station and Country Store.

In 1948, John had a house built beside the shop, creating the close home-and-business arrangement remembered by generations of customers. Son Dennis “Dennie” Hancock later worked at the store seven days a week alongside John and Deed.

The fiftieth anniversary

Hancock's marked fifty years in business with a two-day open house in June 1985. A picnic cooler went to Penny McClure of Shirleysburg, a large outdoor thermometer to Susie Kester of Hill Valley and a flag set to Carl Cramer Sr. of Mount Union.

Other prize winners were Jack Foreman, David Gunter, Clair Colyer, Laura Welch, Arnell Jenkins, Traci Kester, John Shepps, John Suthan Jr., Richard Book Jr., Daphne McCartney, Martina Crouse, Bill Booher and Robin McCartney. The anniversary report closed by calling Hancock's Service Station and general store a Hill Valley landmark and inviting neighbors to stop in and talk with John, Deed and Dennie.

John and Zelda Hancock

John was born January 10, 1916, in Rockhill Furnace and was raised in Hill Valley. Zelda M. McCartney was born in Neelyton, a daughter of John and Annie Miller McCartney. The couple married June 10, 1939, in Hagerstown, Maryland. Zelda, affectionately known to family and customers as “Deed,” became John's partner in both the household and the business.

John and Deed raised six children: John L. Hancock Jr., Wanda K. Staubs, Pamela E. Crouse, Pennie J. Wyland, Dennis J. Hancock and Judy L. Taylor. By 2004, their family included twenty grandchildren, twenty-four great-grandchildren and a great-great-granddaughter. The scale of that family helps explain why the store's history remains connected to so many Hill Valley and Mount Union-area memories.

John and Deed were members of Singer's Gap United Methodist Church. Away from the counter, Deed enjoyed reading, crocheting and fishing. She continued to be publicly remembered as the co-owner and co-operator of Hancock's Service Station, a business the couple sustained in Hill Valley for sixty-seven years.

John also served the wider community through organizations including the Mount Union Area School District Board of Education, the Union National Bank board, the Allenport Lions Club, and other civic groups.

Timeline

• June 1, 1935: John Hancock opens Hancock's Service Station at age nineteen.
• 1938: After the business outgrows its first building, John has the later shop constructed; its service station initially sells Amoco gasoline.
• June 10, 1939: John marries Zelda McCartney; the couple operates the store together.
• 1948: John has the family home built beside the shop.
• June 1985: Hancock's celebrates its fiftieth anniversary with a two-day open house.
• 1999: Newspaper coverage documents the store still operating after nearly sixty-four years.
• June 2000: John and Zelda mark sixty-five years of the Hill Valley business.
• November 1, 2002: John dies at age eighty-six. The store's documented run spans sixty-seven years.
• December 25, 2004: Zelda “Deed” Hancock dies at her Hill Valley home at age eighty-four.