Town and Country General Store, a site with rich history, has announced its closing in order for the owner to focus on her health. Town and Country’s last day will be Aug. 12.
Owner Valerie Evitt has recently been diagnosed with Chiari malformation, a rare brain disorder in which the skull pushes the brain into the spinal column. She said this creates a lot of unlivable conditions, like vertigo, nausea, and migraines.
“Between trying to deal with that and the staff shortage we’re all experiencing, I just cannot keep my doors open,” Evitt said.
Her main focus now is health and family.
“I recently married my highschool sweetheart in December and in March I got sick. My primary goal from here on out is to take care of my health so I can enjoy my husband and grandchildren to the best of my physical and mental ability. Business has really gotten on the backburner,” Evitt said.
She has had symptoms throughout her life but was diagnosed with Chiari malformation in March.
“To just find out I’ve had this my whole life, it kind of explains a lot of what I went through growing up. I’d have my turns of not feeling well and nobody being able to give me an answer or bad headaches and migraines,” Evitt said.
Evitt said she had MRIs and studies done, but they always told her they didn’t detect anything abnormal and it was probably hormonal or the result of overdoing things.
“They just had very vague answers. It wasn’t until it hit me mid-March that I couldn’t find my balance, I had terrible vertigo, I had migraines, nausea, and all the fun things that go with that,” she said.
She was sent for further tests. One EMT thought it could be a tumor but after another MRI, she was diagnosed with Chiari malformation.
Chiari malformation, while rare, affects people differently. According to mayoclinic.org, there are three types. Type 1 may be found later in life and can present milder symptoms, while types 2 and 3 may be present at birth.
“Life throws you curves. Had I known I had this, I would’ve planned my life a lot differently. But I’m very blessed to have had this and been able to live for 57 years with just sporadic symptoms,” Evitt said.
“Again, I feel very blessed to have gotten this far in my life and been able to do all that I’ve done. There’s people out there really suffering with this unheard of disease.”
While she is not necessarily fighting for her life, she is fighting for how she gets to live the rest of her life.
Her advice is to listen to your body, especially when you know something is wrong.
Evitt has owned Town and Country General Store since 2019. She grew up in the area, figured the lake wasn’t going anywhere and saw houses going up constantly. She said she wondered why nobody had opened a general store in the area, so she decided to do so.
She said the first year was difficult, as first years of businesses frequently are.
“Any time you open a new business, I always say it’s like throwing a bunch of balls up in the air and you’re not sure where they’re going to land,” she said.
In 2020, Town and Country had to adapt to the pandemic. Evitt said they took grocery orders through the phone and then packed bags, put them in customers’ trunks and waved to them from outside.
The support from customers has helped a lot. She said this support has been very touching.
“Our customers and people who have found out about it have been very supportive and understanding,” Evitt said. “They are very understanding and I really appreciate it.”
Evitt said she didn’t see just one particular customer type. Club members, local workers, and families passing through on their way home from school or work would all stop at Town & Country.
Evitt is unsure of what is next for the business. That will depend on her health.
Town and Country’s property has previously been a logging home during the 1920s, a house for Jackson County’s first dentist and his family, a Raggedy Ann doll store and museum, and most recently as Town and Country. Per Town and Country’s website, Evitt wanted to preserve the history of the building. After discovering the original property wasn’t salvageable, she kept the original chimney and fireplace as a testament to what was.
