August 23, 2011
Freeville XtraMart news
I don't go as often as I used to, but I'm still a fairly frequent customer at the Freeville XtraMart on the 13/366 overlap. Visiting regularly means getting to know at least some of the people there, reading the signs, and watching things change slowly.
Before I left, there was a sign on the door about a fundraiser scheduled for former cashier Charlie Hart on August 20th. When I came back, the sign was gone. I was saddened to find an obituary for him in the Dryden Courier, as he'd died while waiting for a lung transplant. I'd gotten to know him when I started going there regularly for morning coffee, and he was always extra-nice to Sungiva. (He was the letter-writing Charlie Hart of my earliest days writing this site.)
I wrote earlier about a fundraiser for Bethanie Dougherty, raising money to continue the search for the former XtraMart manager who has been missing since April 2008. There's now a press release on the counter from her father, Terry Curtis. It thanks attendees for the August 7th fundraiser, which raised $3650, and asks anyone with information to call Check Mate at 607 758 6199. The current reward is $9000. They're also selling T-shirts and wristbands to support the search at XtraMart.
Wristbands for Bethany Dougherty.
Most of the time, the news there is a lot brighter, though. There's free coffee on the first of the month (as there is at XtraMart in Dryden), the service is always friendly, and no one seems to mind if I park on the edge of their lot to go to XtraMart and BB Farms next door.
Posted by simon at August 23, 2011 12:26 PM in Route 13/366Note on photos