Sue Valley

If you are wondering what in the world I'm up to shooting an old convenience store then sit back and read on. When I was growing up this store was owned and operated by a local couple that went by the names Hazel and Jay Chewning. It was a small store but they had bubble gum and ice cream and that was all that mattered. I can remember so many times when I had friends that spent the night and we would ride our bikes down there to pick up a soda pop and some gum or of course ice cream. I wish I had a nickel for every drink I got from that store. This was when mountain dew, coke and all the others came in a long bottle. You had the bottle opener on both sides of the drink container and you put your bottle in there, pressed down and off came the lid. Ah... those were the days...I also remember going in and there sit a few other locals that just hung out almost all day long. Every time I go down to Lilesville to visit Mom, I go by this store and the memories just start to flood in my mind. The store was called Sue Valley. On any given day, you could walk into Sue Valley and Hazel would be behind the cash register and Jay would be in the back watching TV. Every once in a blue moon Jay would come out and take the order but not that often. I will always miss riding my bicycle down the road to get a pop and some gum. This same store was owned by my Dad at one time but that was before my time. It's a shame good things come to an end. Other people have tried to run a business from this store but nothing seems to come out of it. No matter who or what this store turns out to be- I will always remember this place as my soda pop and bubble gum factory and although times may change, my memories will stay the same.