The Shadow
LOW MOOR – The grand old lady of Low Moor has reached a milestone in life that many of us will never attain.
Alpha “Granny” Averill is 103 years old.
Many of her friends and family members did not get to attend her birthday celebration held at the Brian Center Saturday, but some braved the snowy weather to come out, along with members of the staff at the Brian Center.
Granny, who retired and sold her business and restaurant known as Averill’s Store several years ago after she fell and broke her hip, said when she retired, “I love it,” referring to running the store and restaurant. But for health reasons, she could not do it anymore.
All of her many friends and customers who had been loyal patrons for many years were also saddened when she had to retire.
Granny sold the store and restaurant to Louise Belmont, and now the business is known as the Company Store.
To say that Alpha “Granny” Averill is a remarkable lady is an understatement. Until her accident, she worked every day in her restaurant and store. Everyone who met her quickly found out that she is extremely nice and seems to enjoy meeting people. She is a soft spoken person and admits that God has been good to her. All who have met Granny will agree that after 103 years, God has been good to her and has given her a mind and body that is still remarkable after 103 years.
After 103 years, Granny has seen the best and worst of life, but she still carries that kind disposition and friendliness that has gained her many friends over the years. Every one of them wish her many more years of happiness and look forward to her 104th birthday.
In 1974, her husband William Averill died on Christmas Day, but she continued to run the store and restaurant every day until she retired.
Granny said when her mother died during childbirth, she was about six or seven years old.
When her son, Wayne, retired, he helped his mother run the store and restaurant until she retired. Her mind was so good when she ran the store that she never needed an adding machine to add up your bill.
Granny at a very young age of nine taught herself to play the piano, and she still plays by ear. Until she broke her hip, she still played for the residents of the nursing homes in the area and in her church.
Granny said, “Many mornings we would walk to school when it was so cold that the Jackson River would be frozen over, and it was about a mile to school. Sometimes the bottom would be out of our shoes, and I often said `You can’t tell me that wet feet give you lung trouble or TB, because we would have had it’.”
She said that students attended school there in Low Moor from the first grade through the second year of high school. Then they had to pay to attend school in Covington. Her family did not have the money for her to attend the Covington school, so she did not go any further than the second year of high school.
Granny and William Averill had three children, all boys – Gene (Punky), Wayne and Billy, who is deceased. She has 10 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren.
Granny, who is now a resident of the Brian Center, said she likes living there very much.
