SUMNER – On Sept. 20, Litchfield’s General Store at the intersection of Route 219 and Greenwood Road will be put up for auction.

Michael Litchfield and Steven Borstelmann bought the store in August 2002. The purchase put the Litchfield name back into the store business.

Michael’s grandparents, Walter and Carolyn Litchfield, bought the general store in 1962 and ran it until 1978. At that time the store was in West Sumner village and the building also served as the Post Office.

After the store in West Sumner burned, the present store on Greenwood Road was built in 1994. The new building not only served as the social center of Sumner but also was a place where people could be served a hot lunch, a pizza and sandwiches.

You could always learn the latest news in Sumner by stopping at the store. It was a place where retirees would visit over a cup of coffee and a piece of homemade pie.

When the smoking ban went into effect, a picnic table was placed out front on the dirt-floored porch and every morning, summer or winter, pickup trucks filled the parking lot as locals brought their coffee outdoors to have their smoke and catch up on the latest.

The store was a place to pick up a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk and other food necessities. Not only did the locals buy their gas there, but it was the only place in Sumner for the firetrucks to get refueled. Now, Sumner firemen have to travel to Canton or Buckfield for gas.

The store has been closed since February.

The auction starts at 2 p.m., with inspection one hour before that.