The Shadow
Happy 108th, Granny!
Alpha “Granny” Averill, right, is greeted by her great-niece, Cheri Blair of Lynchburg, Friday afternoon at the Brian Center in Low Moor on her birthday. Residents of the Alleghany Highlands, along with friends, family and other loved ones, helped Granny celebrate her 108th birthday during a party held in the center’s activity room. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
Happy 108th, Granny!
Alpha “Granny” Averill, right, is greeted by her great-niece, Cheri Blair of Lynchburg, Friday afternoon at the Brian Center in Low Moor on her birthday. Residents of the Alleghany Highlands, along with friends, family and other loved ones, helped Granny celebrate her 108th birthday during a party held in the center’s activity room. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
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LOW MOOR — When “Granny” Averill was born in 1907, Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House and Claude Swanson was governor of Virginia.
Both men would have loved to have had Granny’s popularity.
Friday, friends gathered at the Kassito Brian Center in Low Moor to celebrate Granny’s 108th birthday.
Granny, whose real name is Alpha Averill, was born Jan. 30, 1907.
“I don’t know of anyone in Alleghany County who has lived to be 108 like Granny and remained as witty as she is,” said Robert McClintic II, the Brian Center’s administrator.
Granny has lived in Low Moor her entire life and her store, Averill’s Store, was a mainstay in a row of buildings across from the former Central Elementary School.
She took over the store at age 35 from her brother-in-law in 1942. Granny ran the business as a combination store and eatery until she became a resident of the Brian Center in July 2006.
The store featured wooden counters and shelves and fresh homemade food. But you never heard the sound of a computer or cash register. Granny would tally up each bill with a pencil on a brown paper bag.
“I’ve never really been sick and I’ve always remained active,” she said Friday, in sharing the secret of her longevity. “I worked at the store, you know.”
And then there’s the Low Moor water, according to her son, Wayne.
“She always said the Low Moor water kept her young,” Wayne said.
The family sold Averill’s Store in 2007, but the annual birthday gathering with her friends each January has remained a constant.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” said Jim Mead, a former Low Moor resident who now lives in Roanoke.
Mead has always brought three gallons of ice cream to the birthday gathering, since it started about 25 years ago.
In 2003, Granny was honored by the Virginia General Assembly in a joint resolution.
“Granny Averill, friendly, trusting, helpful and kind, provides a daily reminder of a simpler, less stressful, enjoyable time,” said the resolution, introduced by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath County, and former Del. Jim Shuler of Blacksburg.
The kitchen staff at the Brian Center prepared a special cake for Granny’s 108th birthday celebration Friday — a snowman with a red hat. The red hat symbolizes the fact that Granny still leads gatherings of the Red Hat ladies at the Brian Center.
Friends and well wishers flocked to the Brian Center’s activity room Friday for her birthday gathering. Many brought cards, flowers and small gifts.
“We all know why we are here today,” McClintic said. “As we gather here today, you just have to think about the blessings the Good Lord has given each one of us and you also have to think about the blessings He has bestowed on Granny,” McClintic said.
