ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 11, 1996 TAG: 9612110039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: A Cuppa Joe
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY
Carol Johnson was driving home to Franklin County on U.S. 220 in Thursday evening's snowstorm.
When she reached the Clearbrook area, she found traffic stopped dead.
"I'm a very hyper person," she says, "and sitting in traffic is not my idea of a fine time at all."
Wanting to call her husband and tell him she would be delayed, she pulled into Carriage House Antiques.
She got more than she bargained for. In fact, she found a party.
It's not unusual for storekeepers and many other strangers to show their best sides when bad weather puts people in need. But, given the quality of social interaction in today's world, we're surprised and grateful when people help us out.
The last thing we expect is a party among strangers.
The day after the storm, some people told stories of two- and three-hour trips to their homes across the mountains, of 12-car pileups and roadsides cluttered with abandoned vehicles.
Good deeds for the weary
Dozens of people talked about the good deeds of the Carriage House owners.
Mary Parker and her son, James, 11, stopped in when the alternator on their car went bad.
"I was a little nervous," she said. "It was sure cold out there."
Like Johnson, she hoped only for permission to use the phone. But she and James stayed for a couple of hours, until a wrecker arrived to take them and their car to their house near Rocky Mount.
When Connie Phipps left home and drove to Salem to pick up her husband, Paul, at work, "It was snowing a little bit, but I wasn't expecting what it turned into."
They, too, found themselves stuck on 220. Like the others, they sought shelter at the Carriage House.
There, they called their kids, talked, carried on and looked at the antiques and collectibles.
Connie Phipps even found some items she might go back and buy.
`A good time was had by all'
Richard Anderson, who runs the place with Ralph Mingee, modestly figures they helped about 26 people during the storm, but Johnson says it might have been closer to 50.
"We served candy and drinks and merriment," Anderson says. "And a good time was had by all."
The owners, who bought the place in September, told their visitors to call whomever they needed to, even if it was long-distance. When someone mentioned the store's 7 p.m. closing time, Anderson was aghast.
"He said, 'We're going to stay here till you all get home,'" Johnson recalls.
He told them that if things outside didn't improve, he had enough blankets for everyone to spend the night.
No sleeping on the antiques
"He said we could sleep on any of the antique furniture," Johnson said, except for a high-priced antique red velvet sofa and chair.
"At the very beginning, I had to lay down a rule that if they didn't behave, I had enough room to separate everybody," Anderson says.
When Johnson arrived, she parked her car in front of the store. Anderson didn't ask her to move it: He asked for her keys and went out and moved it himself. He didn't want her to do it because she was dressed up, wearing high heels, for the job interview she'd had that afternoon.
When she got ready to leave about 9:45, he brought her car to the front door, dusted off the snow and gave her the keys.
"In this day and age, to find courtesy like that," she marvels. "He was gentlemanly to everybody who came in."
By the time the bad weather cleared, nine people had caught rides and left their vehicles in the lot overnight. Some left their keys in case Anderson and Mingee needed to move them. Everyone was gone by 10.
The next day, Anderson seemed sorry the evening had to end.
"We were going to have a floor show," he said. "I had a ball."
What's your story? Call me at 981-3256 or send e-mail to kenn@roanoke.infi.net. Or write to me at P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010-2491.
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