Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 12, 1994 TAG: 9408120061
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PATRICIA FAIN HUTSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD NEWS
DATELINE: NEWPORT LENGTH: Medium
Taylor and his wife, Mary, have been fixtures in this small Giles County community for 35 years, the first two decades as owners and proprietors of Taylor's Store.
Declining health forced Taylor to give up the store in 1979 and he underwent triple heart-bypass surgery nine years later. Meanwhile, his basket-weaving hobby has become his full-time job.
"If I had learned to weave baskets when I was young, I would likely have made it my life's work," said Taylor, 67.
Anyone driving or walking through town on a summer day likely would catch a glimpse of Taylor rocking on the front porch of his stately white frame house. Somewhere behind the petunias peeking through the white balusters of the porch railing, Taylor will be weaving his baskets.
Taylor had always been fascinated with the craft. But he had little time for it until he gave up the store.
Now, he finds his unique baskets are favorites at craft shows. He sells an average of 50 per show of his personalized egg baskets with handles of varied woods and designs.
Mary Taylor, who works part-time at the Village Emporium gift shop, enjoys attending craft shows with her husband. The three they attend faithfully are the Newport Fair, the New Castle Festival in October and the Eastern Giles Arts and Crafts Festival in Pembroke in November.
Many folks in and around Newport are happy that Harry Taylor didn't make basket-weaving his full-time job sooner. He was a darn good storekeeper for 20 years. And he was more than just a merchant.
Besides selling groceries and other stuff, he also performed varied community services, including keeping an eye on children waiting for school buses on the front porch of the store and donating boxes of paper goods and food to families when a relative died.
Taylor also carried credit for many families during hard times, and helped churches with food baskets at Christmas. He recalled packing up to 30 baskets a night during the season.
As a member of the Newport Fire Department, Taylor installed an alarm button in the store so he could sound the siren when a fire call came in.
Many times he would lock up the store to respond to a fire call - once, in his haste, unknowingly locking a woman customer inside.
When he returned, she was still calmly waiting.
Taylor's Store was open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. six days a week, at first exclusively run by Harry Taylor. His children carried hot meals to the store for him, and Mary was his constant support.
Later, he hired a clerk, Cecil Caldwell, who became more than a store employee. He also helped with the Taylor children and with the garden.
The only Sunday Taylor can recall opening the store was during a snowstorm that blocked all the roads. The Taylors, members of the Methodist Church, were dressed up and ready to go, but services were canceled. Many customers within walking distance of the store called to see if he would open.
So Taylor told them to come on down and he fired up the pot-bellied stove.
The Taylors and their children, Nancy and Richard, moved to Newport in 1959 when the Black Logan Co. department store in Blacksburg closed and Taylor was out of a job. They made Newport their home at the urging of Taylor's former employer, C.P. Logan.
Logan, who lived in the house later owned by the Taylors, was concerned because Newport had no store at that time. He loaned Taylor the money, interest-free, to rent and stock the store and opened his home to the Taylor family. A third child, Craig, was born in 1966.
Newport welcomed the Taylors immediately. Taylor says he hoped to return the hospitality by his service to the community.
Two years after Taylor opened the store, the owner of the building notified him that the lease would be terminated. Thanks to a neighboring businessman, Taylor moved the store across the street without missing a beat.
J.E. Sutphin owned the building where he held auctions on Saturdays. He simply closed his business and rented the building to Taylor so the store would continue.
With the help of local youths, the move was accomplished on a hot August Saturday Taylor continued doing business from both sides of the street.
Saturday, he'll be back in business, but selling his handcrafted egg baskets rather than groceries and household supplies to many of the same village customers he has known for years.
by CNB