As the owner of the Clifton General Store, Tom MacNamara could be considered the town’s unofficial greeter. Visitors coming to tour the historic district, commuters stopping by for a quick breakfast or lost travelers seeking directions gravitate to MacNamara’s storefront.
For longtime residents, the Clifton General Store serves as a place to catch up on the news of the day or get the word out about important town events. Want to know what’s going on in Clifton? Talk to MacNamara.
Number of years in the community: 21.
Family: Judy, my wife of 34 years; son Sean, 26; daughter Jamie and son Kevin, 23 (twins); and daughter Katie, 19.
Education: B.F.A. University of Maryland 1970
Your first job: Working in the trim-a-tree department of Sears
Current job/occupation: Owner of the Clifton General Store.
Activities/interests/hobbies: Fixing up and maintaining our 100-year-old house; driving my 11-year-old sports car with the top down.
Favorite local restaurant of place in the community: Peterson's Ice Cream Depot
What are your community concerns? What are some ideas you have on ways to improve your community? There could be a better balance between residential and commercial entities in town. Without the businesses, our town would just be a subdivision of old houses.
What is the last book you read or the last movie you watched? I know the answer to this question will give great insight into my character, but honestly I didn't finish the last two books I started and I can't remember the last time I went to the movies.
What brought you here? I got lost one day trying to find a shortcut to work.
What community “hidden treasure” do you think more people should know about? I think the “hidden treasure” are the people in my community. Having run the general store for 18 years, I've gotten to know most of the locals very well and they are all wonderfully weird folks. Because we know each other so much more intimately than if we were in a larger community, we have come to accept and prize each other's eccentricities.
When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? An architect.
If you were to take a road trip anywhere right now, where would you go? A car ride down the coast of Italy.
What are your personal goals? I thought about this question a lot and I guess my biggest goal is to live long enough to know my grandchildren.
What are some of the basics of your organization? Our organization is a historic country general store that has been around for 77 years.
How do you think your store benefits the community?
My store is one of the crossroads in the community. We act as an unofficial chamber of commerce. Visitors usually stop here first for information about events, locations and directions. We usually post time and place for local meetings and activities. There is a community bulletin board and a local real estate board. Oh, and we are lost animal control central. But the most fun is our “CNN” (Clifton nosy neighbor) board. We let folks know about new neighbors, recent births and upcoming events. One section of the board is for a trivia question. Probably the most talked-about question was “How many Town of Clifton mayors have mooned the train?” The answer is two.
How can people get involved? The nature of small town is involvement. You move into town and you get caught up in town activities. Everybody cares. Everybody has an opinion. If you want privacy and quiet you move outside of town on one of the 5-acre estates.