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There are a lot of things a person can buy at the Green Hill Store on Hwy. 64/74 outside of Rutherfordton and heading toward Lake Lure and Chimney Rock. Family owned since 1995, customers come in the store for snacks, groceries, beverages, coffee, ice cream, pizza, ice, breakfast biscuits, lunch, gifts, gas and on and on. Some people stop by the store to visit friends and take a comfortable seat in one of the rocking chairs outside and inside the store.
Alma Haynes, 94, is one of those people. A regular visitor to the store, she will tell you she comes "just for the fun" and to see her friends. Besides that, Mrs. Haynes has a part-time job at the store. She puts together pizza boxes for the store's deli. She sets her own hours and days to work, depending on the rest of her schedule. She gets the job done.
Her grandson and store owner Scotty Haynes said it is a joy to have his grandmother there and she comes over as often as possible. Customers are always happy to see her.
"I just whip 'em up," Mrs. Haynes said, sharing her strategy in making the boxes.
Sitting in a rocking chair with a small table in front of her, Mrs. Haynes began her task immediately upon arriving at the store last Tuesday morning.
Her caregiver Polly Edwards, brings her to work, sets up the table and hands her the stack of flat cardboard.
Mrs. Haynes shared the secret of making the boxes. "I find the little hole in the right side corner of the cardboard" and from there she begins to fold the sides together. In a mere few seconds, the pizza box is made and she slips it onto the pile of boxes beside her rocking chair. Immediately, she picks up another piece of cardboard and begins again. In less than 10 minutes, there was a sizable stack of pizza boxes ready. She never veered from her task while talking and rarely looked at the boxes.
"Ah, I'm just playing around," she said. "I come here to be with my friends and family and to have fun," never missing a beat.
"I do this for my family. For love. I just have a ball," she smiled as customers walked up to say hello.
"She knows who I am," Arnold Brown said, of his long time friend, greeting her with a smile and cheery hello.
Another friend stopped by Mrs. Haynes' rocking chair to show off her new purse that had just been monogrammed from a person at the store. Mrs. Haynes said it was beautiful.
Mrs. Haynes' tiny slim fingers move quickly. She uses that same talent when she is crocheting. She believes she can teach people to crochet if they are interested.
"You just take the needle," she began to demonstrate with her 94-year-old fingers.
She shared a few more of her favorite things, including her favorite food which is catfish. She eats catfish about once a week and usually on Friday nights when someone brings it from a fish camp or she has it at the Mason Jar, a restaurant inside the Green Hill Store. She wants the "bone-in" catfish. She doesn't do fillets.
"My mother taught me how to hold the catfish," Mrs. Haynes began, demonstrating holding the catfish and stripping the meat "clear" from the bone.
Edwards said "Sometimes I get nervous she might get a bone in her throat, but she never has."
In days gone by she caught her own catfish from her pond. Others fish the pond today.
Pepsi is Mrs. Haynes beverage of choice; favorite vegetables are green beans, potatoes (baked). For breakfast she said she enjoys bacon, eggs, grits, toast or biscuits with strawberries.
Mrs. Haynes spends as much time as possible with her sister, Virginia, and they get caught up in all the latest news from the community and the nation, taking on the telephone.
She describes her health as "pretty fair" and sees medical professionals at her home through her health care plan. Mrs. Haynes does have some difficulty hearing, she communicates very well, when a person speaks directly to her.
A member of the Piney Knob Baptist Church, Mrs. Haynes still attends church when she is able. She loves meeting friends there, too, and "I like to sing all the songs," she smiles.
The mother of two children, James and Anita, and a native of Rutherford County, Mrs. Haynes lives "just across the road from the store" and it is always convenient to get to work.
Mrs. Haynes always drove her own car until some years ago.
"I had a several cars," she said. One of the cars is still in Green Hill, a 1963 Chevy.
She was married to the late Adam Haynes, who served as principal of Gilkey Elementary School, during his career. Mrs. Haynes worked for the Tanner Company many years ago in the Sample Department where she was a presser. "They are a wonderful family."
Not missing a beat on completing her job Tuesday and the interview, Mrs. Haynes said, "This was a real treat for me...Well, I guess that just about covers it," she quietly smiled.
What Mrs. Haynes takes away is something money can't buy - time with friends - and a "just for the fun of it job."
