A vacant lot is shown
on maps of 1930 and before. Below is the map of
1948, with South Concho Street to the right.
This is the original floor plan of Little Bear
Grocery.
 .................................................................
A grocery store had been
built at 1600 South Concho Street and Ninth Street in
1937, owned by M. T. White and Morrison Taylor. This
building was 60 feet long and 30 feet wide. It was
named at the time Little Bear Grocery and retained
that name for much of its lifespan. The grocery was
open from six in the morning until midnight, seven
days a week.
 Shown above is the Little Bear Grocery, about 1935, exterior and interior. The lIttle boy in center is M. T. White, Jr, behind him is his mom, Elizabeth (Jackson) White and his father, M. T. White, Sr. is to his right, in front. The interior shows them in the center of the picture. No one else has been identified. .................................................................
By 1939 they were no longer in
partnership and Morrison Taylor had opened a grocery
at 1914 South Concho Street. In April 1943, Clyde E.
Tate, butcher at Flippen’s Grocery leased the Morrison
D. Taylor Grocery on South Concho Street, due to
Taylor’s induction into the army. By 1948 the name of
the grocery at 1600 South Concho; Street had changed
to Don’s Food Store. The building was remodeled in
October 1948. In 1950 and 1954 the grocery store at
this address was called A & B Food Store.
 Shown above are Coleman High School Yearbook advertisements for the Little Bear Grocery. At left is the 1960 ad, with Thomas Casey at left, Nancy Nixon in center and Jeannie Bohannon behind. Mrs. Cary Roberts (Pauline) is to the right. Image at right is the 1962 ad, with Cary Roberts behind the counter. By 1958, the old Little Bear Grocery name had returned and had become Cary’s Little Bear, owned by Cary Roberts. In December 1961, the store was heavily damaged by fire. It was razed and completely rebuilt beginning was a new foundation (below left), reopening in June 1962. Cary Roberts died suddenly in December 1962, and the store was sold by Mrs. Roberts to J. E. and E. G. King of Denton, who had been in the grocery business in Coleman in the past. The store assumed the name King’s Little Bear Grocery. By June 1964, it was known as Smitty’s Little Bear Grocery, owned by Olin B. “Smitty” Smith. At that time, it was open Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. Smithy’s Little Bear Grocery van is shown in front of Price Paint and Body Shop with a new sign installed (below right). The grocery closed about 1972. 
 In June 1973, Donnie and Chris Henderson opened Henderson Funeral Home of Coleman (below left), which was remodeled from the building that had housed a long-time grocery store, Little Bear Grocery at 1600 South Concho Street. The building had almost 4,000 square feet of floor space and included a lobby, office, two state rooms, music room, preparation room, casket and vault display room and a chapel with seating for 170. In June 1974, Donnie Henderson, Cecil Day and Hilburn Henderson were co-owners of Henderson Funeral Home. The staff in 1974 included Fred Jackson, Patrick Hosch, Benny Allcorn and Wade Turner. 
 By the summer of 1975, the funeral home has added improved emergency ambulance service for Coleman County with a custom built emergency ambulance (above right) built by Stoner-Western Company of Whittier, California, and air ambulance service, with their personnel certified in advanced first aid.  Above - south and east sides. Below - east and north sides. January 2004  Below - north and west sides. February 2005  Donnie Henderson passed away in
2016. His wife, Chris Henderson, also a funeral
home director,
continues to operate Henderson Funeral Home in 2021. |