The La Harpe Dollar General store opened July 27, 2001 at the east edge of La Harpe in the former La Harpe Auto Parts store. They were the last of the stores to go in existing buildings, those that opened later are in newly built buildings.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
-by Judy Swanson, The Quill
Dollar General
The La Harpe Dollar General store opened July 27, 2001 at the east edge of La Harpe in the former La Harpe Auto Parts store. They were the last of the stores to go in existing buildings, those that opened later are in newly built buildings.
Dollar General has general merchandise, food items, automotive, health and beauty supplies, pet supplies, home cleaning supplies, toys, seasonal items, and gift items. They also have outside vendors who supply items such as cards, Pepsi products, and chips.
Rebecca Link is the store manager. Her duties include all the paper work, hiring employees, scheduling of hours, overseeing inventories and keeping track of products. She helped the district manager set up the Bushnell and Carthage General stores as well as fill in as management in these stores when needed.
Dollar General employs four others besides Rebecca. The store hours are Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sundays, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Their merchandise comes in on the truck on Sundays and has an average of 550 cases each week.
Rebecca and her husband, Dan, live in west La Harpe. They have three children, Erin, Adam and Sarah. Rebecca says she enjoys being a manager at Dollar General because it is right here in town, it is close to the school in case her youngest daughter needs something and she knows everyone from this area. Most of her staff has been with her for a long time and are quite dependable and knowledgeable.
Some changes she would like to see in the future are some coolers added and some items that don't sell well in a farm community like La Harpe, replaced with more hardware items. She does not do her own ordering, she just keeps track of the inventory that the main office sends to them.