Today is a sad day in Alleghany County.
Averill's Country Store had been a mainstay in the little row of buildings across from the old Central Elementary School for as long as I can remember and as long as my Dad can remember. I'm sure my grandfather, who is now gone, ate a meal or two at "Granny's," too.
Granny is Alpha Averill, who has been running the store and eatery since she took it over from her brother-in-law in 1942.
Today is the last day for the store. It is closing down.
In January, Ms. Averill turned 100 years old. Her family and friends-- and she's got a lot of friends-- threw her a party in the store. Our reporter, Neil Harvey covered the event. I can't do a better job of summing up the atmosphere of that wonderful little store than Neil did, so I'm going to attach a copy of his article to the bottom of this blog entry.
I just want to say that Granny has meant a whole lot to my family and my hometown community. Almost every day, my dad takes a coffee break at Ms. Averill's and then heads there for lunch. I know he's eaten a lot of hamburgers and hot dogs, countless bowls of beans and macaroni and cheese, bags upon bags of chips with cold sandwiches and probably drank 25 gallons of sweet tea over the years, always walking right up to the counter and pouring himself a cup like every other patron.
Granny made her store feel like a place to come home to for hundreds of Covington and Clifton Forge residents. She'll never tally up my soda and Little Debbie snack with a pencil on a brown paper bag again, and I'm a little heartsick over that. I'll bet that little store is cram-packed with visitors today who want to eat one last meal at the lunch counter or buy one last ice cream bar before the creaky screen door is slammed shut for the last time.
If I work half as hard and make half as many friends in my lifetime as Granny did during her time behind that cash register, it will certainly be a life well-lived.
Congratulations, Granny. Get some rest.

NOW SHE'S 100- WHAT'S IN STORE?

Date: Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Byline: By Neil Harvey neil.harvey@roanoke.com 981-3340
Dateline: LOW MOOR

Early Tuesday, the morning air was so bitter cold on Old Church Road that the January wind seemed to have parched the street and its buildings and lightly bleached the nearby trees and hills.

But to step inside Averill's Country Store was to instantly enter into a different climate -- warm, aromatic and, by 10 a.m., buzzing with people who had come to wish store owner Alpha Averill a happy 100th birthday.

As the lunch hour drew near, the broad, high-ceilinged room seemed to shrink in response to the scores of friends who poured in.
The small woman they'd come to see, known by most as "Granny," sat in a high-backed rocking chair next to an old yellow scale that, for a penny, will gauge your weight and predict your future.

A small green lap blanket covered her legs, but her spotless white New Balance sneakers peeked out from under its hem, even though her soles didn't quite touch the floor.

"I haven't really been sick," Averill said, assuredly, despite a hip fracture in June -- her second in the past decade. "I'm doing fine. I'm coming back to work next week."

Her son, Wayne, 68, concurred: "She's doing real good. She's still walking with the walker, but we all live close by so we can all keep a check on her."

Drew Varner, who runs the rehabilitation department at Fincastle's Brian Center Nursing Care, where Averill recovered, said, "She worked her way back from it. She's obviously got a lot of support."

Evidence of that was on full display Tuesday, and not simply in the form of guests. In many ways, the store/lunch counter is almost like a sprawling trophy case dedicated to Granny.

Photographs of her with Miss Virginia or state police troopers line the walls. The counter held cards and flowers, bouquets of balloons and a signed letter from Gov. Tim Kaine. The Alleghany County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday added a framed recognition of her status as "a heralded, respected and valued business woman and citizen."

The store is also another kind of shrine, an unintentional monument to days gone by. It's scattered Little Debbies and glass-bottled Cokes. Tins of Vienna sausages, canned corned beef and loaves of Sunshine bread line the shelves. The bulletin board, dotted with local business cards, also displays offers for a 1972 Chevy pickup and baby sitters. There are no sales tickets, or even a cash register. Purchases and lunch orders are tallied after meals on scrap paper.

"It's a slice of Americana that's fast disappearing," said Anne Brugh, a resident of the Glebe in Daleville.

"This is the U.S.A. at its best," said Brugh's husband, Latane. "It's a rural restaurant in every way, but it's a whole lot like a club, too. The food's good, but the friendship and environment is even better."

A large contingent of Granny's fans are state troopers, who recently gave her an award of appreciation and have long flocked to her lunch counter.

"We've been coming here for years," said Trooper Allen Mann. "There's always something hot in the pot. If you're working day shift, you eat at Granny's.

"We recently relocated our headquarters. It used to be in Clifton Forge, and now it's about a mile from [the store]. I think it's because it's close to Granny's, but I can't prove that."

As the crowd sat down to lunch -- pork loin, green beans, macaroni, deviled eggs, rolls, tea and cake -- Lisa Marshall, pastor at Averill's church, Low Moor Presbyterian, offered a prayer.

"We pray for your continued blessing on Granny, and bless us as we celebrate this special day," Marshall said.

By 12:30 p.m., said store employee Susan Okumura, the stack of 175 plastic plates had dwindled to just a couple of dozen "and there's still people coming in."

When Averill sat down at the old William Knabe piano against the wall and played, the lunch came to its official end.

"We always hoped she'd turn 100," said her grandson, Darrell Averill. "This is really special."

After a few quiet songs, Granny began to play a familiar tune, "Happy Birthday," a number that ended with much applause.

"Everybody calls her 'granny,' " Darrell Averill said, "but I actually get to claim her."

Alpha "Granny" Averill

Born: Jan. 30, 1907

Owns Averill's Country Store

She began working at the store in 1942 at age 35.

The store was originally built in the late 1800s to serve as the commissary of the Low Moor Iron Co.

A few of her local honors: Recognized as a "unique Virginian" by the Virginia General Assembly in 2003; honored this month by the Alleghany Board of Supervisors; received a Virginia State Police appreciation award. Hear more from Alpha Averill's birthday celebration at roanoke.com.

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