The Corner Store: A Greene County Fixture
It’s obvious as you walk past the flats of brightly colored annuals and up the front steps of The Corner Store Garden Center that there’s history here. Once inside, you can imagine a time past when folks stopped by to buy a Coke and catch up on the local gossip.
Len Lamm has been part of it all. “Dad and Hamp, Ronnie Lamm and Hampton Burnett, bought the store from Johnny Elliot in the mid '60s,” recalls Len. “At the time it was called Elliot’s Store. My Dad, Hamp, Florence and Mom all sat down one night and came up with a new name.”
The Corner Store was a general store, an early version of the modern convenience store. Providing the Ruckersville community with a quick stop for most anything. There were gas pumps out front. Beer and cigarettes, of course. And canned goods as well as fresh foods saved folks from a long trip to Charlottesville when they ran short.
Len Lamm, owner of The Corner Store Garden Center
“We had a big block of what we called rat cheese in the back of the store. We’d cut and weigh up as much as you needed,” said Len. “And we even had a deli at one time. The window that’s still in the back of the main room is where we sold sandwiches.”
The store was also an important gathering place. Locals were always welcome to stay and chat. Everyone knew Ronnie Lamm and he always had time to listen.
For a few years, Ronnie and Hamp ran the store together. After a time, Hamp needed to focus all his time on his farm, but he remained a partner in the enterprise. Ronnie continued to run the store with the help of family and friends. “It wasn't but just a few years, that Ronda, my sister and others worked at the store pumping gas, helping out, because Dad continued to work with Sears and Roebuck,” remembers Len.
Shortly after Ronnie started his 20+ year career with Virginia Farm Bureau, he started leasing out the store to others. Even though he wasn’t running day to day operations, Ronnie was always involved. “My dad was up there all the time talking to the owners and everyone who stopped by. He grew up in his dad’s store, and he loved the business.”
In 1983, Len was graduating from William Monroe high when a lease contract was about to expire. In October, Len partnered with Doris Utz for his first 7-year contract on the store. “Doris was my best friend’s mother, and was like a second mother to me,” explained Len. “She was also an astute, experienced business woman who taught me a lot. I couldn’t have done it without her.”
Len was destined to become the next generation of life-long Corner Store owners. “I graduated in June and started running the store in October,” said Len. “I’ve done it ever since, 36 years. Wow.”
Next time: Who in the world is going to buy tomato plants?