Welcome to the village of Mechanicsville, home of mom and pop barbershops, bakeries, grocers, jewelers, dry cleaners and druggists. A place where stores are run out of the backs of converted single-family homes and strip centers.

The road that runs through the village is wide, and in most cases the signs advertising the local stores are faded and old. But the merchandise is still just as good as it was when the families moved here in the 1950s.

STEPPING OUT SERIES

About: In "Stepping Out," staff writer Meredith Bonny explores metro Richmond communities to find the stories, hot spots and history hidden within. "Stepping Out" will appear the first Sunday of each month. If you go: MECHANICSVILLE Most of the stores in the village of Mechanicsville are open Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday. Charlie's Barber Shop and Williams Bakery are closed on Sunday and Monday. Breakfast and lunch are served at the Mechanicsville Drug Store from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. There is storefront parking at each of the shops. About the author: Meredith Bonny has worked for the Richmond Times-Dispatch for eight years. She has covered everything from county government in Chesterfield and Henrico counties to the war in Afghanistan. A graduate of American University, Bonny enjoys writing feature stories about people and the Richmond community. She has received nine Virginia Press Association awards and will spend the next several months "stepping out" in metro-area communities. What do you think? Have a suggestion for a "Stepping Out" feature? Contact staff writer Meredith Bonny at mbonny@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6452.

For those who have never visited this section of Hanover County, just look for the big windmill (which used to be a Heritage Savings and Loan and then other financial institutions) along Old Mechanicsville Turnpike.

"It's our landmark," said Diane Bosher, who has worked at Lipscombe TV Appliance for six years. "It's part of our little town."

At a time when so many places in central Virginia are changing, the village of Mechanicsville has stayed pretty much the same. The éclairs at Williams Bakery are still big and sweet, the limeades at the drugstore just as tart, the steaks at Mills' Market just as fresh, and the buzz cuts at Charlie's Barber Shop still look "sharp."

While commercial development has been booming along U.S. 360 -- locals call it "the Pike" -- especially east of Interstate 295, it has not lured the local clientele away from the village shops.

For many who shop and live in the village of Mechanicsville, new isn't always better.

Many of the businesses in the village have been handed down from one generation to the next, and everyone has a story.

But to hear Ronnie Williams tell it, you have to get up early in the morning to make a go of it.

Williams, owner of Williams Bakery, arrives at 4 a.m.

"We make it fresh," he said, patting his chocolate-covered apron.

"My wife does not let me get in her kitchen," he said with a laugh. "She says I make too much of a mess."

The smell oozes outside the bakery, where the shelves are lined with bear claws, jelly doughnuts, cakes and "pigs."

A pig, aptly named, includes yellow cake with marshmallow cream, chocolate icing and pecans.

"I learned it from my dad," Williams said of his trade. Williams started working at the shop in 1977 and bought it from his father in 1990.

Pretty much the same is true for John Wash Jr.

"My dad bought this store 30 years ago, and I bought it from him this year," said Wash, who chuckled at the fact that he owns Hanover Cleaners and his last name is Wash.

"It's good for word-of-mouth business," he said.

But that's not to say there isn't anything new here. In fact, in some ways things are changing.

Originally named for the number of blacksmiths, wheelwrights and workers on farm machinery, the village of Mechanicsville is holding a contest to rename "Mechanicsville Turnpike Business Route 360."

The winner will receive $100 cash from the Village of Mechanicsville Inc., one free limeade each week for a year from the Mechanicsville Drug Store and one free eye exam from Dr. Charles Harris.

Entry forms can be picked up at the drugstore. They must be submitted by March 1.

The area, steeped in history, has also welcomed some new businesses.

There's the Southern Scents Candleshop, specializing in homemade candles and crafts, which opened five years ago. And there's Hanover Music, a real newcomer.

Clay Wray, who studied music composition at Longwood University, opened the music store two months ago. He teaches everything from guitar to drums to mandolin to banjo to piano to horn.

When asked how he learned all these instruments, Wray said: "I just don't have much of a social life."

Across the street, Molly Booker and Lisa Watkins co-own New Creation Day Spa and Salon.

The two former stay-at-home moms, both from Mechanicsville, wanted to open a place that made people feel pampered, something a stay-at-home mom could really appreciate.

So they gutted what used to be a quilting shop, sanded the floors, spread some paint, and voil? -- "it's like a little bit of Carytown in Mechanicsville," Watkins said.

The spa offer facials, waxing and body treatments, as well as days of beauty for 8-year-old birthday girls.

Across the street from the spa is a gun shop. Not just any gun shop, but DeGoff's Firearms Inc., a family-owned store that dates back 30 years.

Most days, with the exception of Sunday, you can find Eve Atkinson sitting behind the counter with her 23-year-old grandson, Joe Atkinson.

Eve doesn't know much about guns. Joe does.

"We sell all hunting shotguns, rifles and self-defense and competition-style" weapons, he said.

Even though Eve Atkinson never loved guns, she loved her husband, Rodney, and Rodney loved guns. The store was born when Eve told Rodney to get his blooming business out of "my darn house."

The two were high school sweethearts at Glen Allen High School and had been married for 53 years when Rodney died five years ago.

"He asked me, 'Would you go to work if I opened up a shop?'" Eve recalled. The rest is history.

"We started out with $19,000 in guns. Now we have over $1 million."

If you are more of a gold chain and charm person than a gun-toting hunter, take a walk down the street and you'll find Yesterday's Jewels, home of Bill Messner.

Messner is a jack of all trades, but he makes his living making, refurbishing and selling jewelry.

Every little girl who enters the shop gets a pendant, and every boy gets a chain.

Messner, who was the corporate director of fine jewelry at Thalhimers, got his start in watches. He attended the Hamilton Watch Factory in Lancaster, Pa., during World War II and ran several stores in Florida before relocating to Virginia.

These days, the grizzled, gray-haired Messner writes fiction in his spare time and keeps the shop alive and laughing at his jokes.

When asked what he does at the store, he says, "I clean the bathroom."

When asked what the shop specializes in, Messner grins.

"Stealing jewelry."