User:Shelby033108/sandbox

The Kirby community located in Kirby, West Virginia is a small community that has no stores or large business. Instead of large places like that they have one small community center and a few stores that are vacant and not publicly used. One of these stores is a store that was called Cox's store after the owners of the store Lincoln and Nelly Cox. They bought the store in 1940 before Lincoln left to go to serve in the army. Lincoln was the post-master after they bought the store the post-master before him was Birdie Kirby. Birdie is also how the town got its name. Lincoln and Nelly had 2 kids a boy and a girl. When Lincoln went to serve in the army Nelly ran the store and was the post-master while also raising 2 kids with some help from a young woman named Emmie. The population of the community is about 200 people. The store was one of three stores in the community at the time is was still in business. The stores original location was up in a heaven about 5 miles from where it currently sits. It was rolled there on logs and left at its current location and is still sitting on its original logs. It is about 150 years old. The current owner is Beverly Westfall. She and her family shut the store down in 2006. While the store was open many local people would come to the store to buy all of their grocery’s, gasand other items such as cleaning supplies. The store had a coke machine and two gas pumps. While Lincoln and Nellie were alive they worked in the store and once they were not able to work they stayed at home and people would visit them. Everyone in the community knew Lincoln and Nellie Cox. Lincoln was part of the Kirby Ruritan and before there was a Kirby Ruritan Lincoln was part of the Romney Ruritan. When the family who currently owns, the store bought the building they planned on keeping it in the family. It is currently in the family and they have had the building for 75 years.

Sources

Cox, Lincoln. Historic Hampshire: A Symposium of Hampshire County and Its People, Past and Present. McClain Print Company, 1976.

Kesner, Don. “Cox 1997 Knight of Olde Hampshire.” Hampshire Review, 13 Aug.1997, p.1, p.8.

Westfall, Beverly. Personal Interview. 13 November 2016.