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captions, page 2:
Left: Rucki's in Manahasset Village. Note the "flood line" sign. Middle: Walter Rucki. Gloria Rucki Kelly photos courtesy of the Aspinock Historical Society. Right: Rucki's today (Linda Lemmon photo).
Rucki’s: Moving sale is bittersweet
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
ABINGTON — The hope is that when Rucki’s store, a member of two communities for three generations, changes hands later this month the general store tradition might remain in some form.
Currently the store with wide wood floor boards, hand-painted signs, a squeaky old screen door prone to slamming, a giant metal rooster and every conceivable item you might need is having a moving sale.
According to the Baker 21 Realty Group, the property is under contract.
There had been some interest from buyers who wanted to turn the 11,000-plus square foot building into apartments, but the Rucki family is hoping for the next incarnation of a general store.
Town records date the building to 1800.
The owners say that COVID-19 killed the business.
The business began with Walter Rucki in Manhasset Village in Putnam. The Flood of 1955 destroyed the business. The building that is now Rucki’s in Abington was available and the business moved to Abington in July, 1958.
Walter Rucki and family that followed were meat cutters and Rucki’s was also known for its deli. The building sits on .36 acres.
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