Bill Text: VA SJR185 | 2020 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Fulks Run Grocery.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-03-03 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ185ER) [SJR185 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-SJR185-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Fulks Run Grocery, a cherished establishment of the Shenandoah Valley and the home of world-class Turner Hams, celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2019; and
WHEREAS, recognizing the need for a country store in the area to serve locals and visitors, Garnett and Lena Turner founded Fulks Run Grocery on Brocks Gap Road in 1949; and
WHEREAS, after Garnett Turner was unable to find a source to satisfy his customers' many requests for cured Virginia hams, he began curing hams himself and selling them out of Fulks Run Grocery; and
WHEREAS, using his grandfather Webster Turner's recipe and a five-month curing process, Garnett Turner made hams that were so popular he could not keep them in stock; by 1966, he built the Turner Ham House to keep up with the growing customer demand; and
WHEREAS, today, producing nearly 8,000 hams a year as the only source for sugar-cured country ham in the Shenandoah Valley, Fulks Run Grocery and the Turner Ham House have created a treasured local tradition; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, the Turner Ham House and Fulks Run Grocery were recipients of the USA Today 2017 Reader's Choice Award for best country ham sandwich in Virginia, confirming what many local residents had already known for decades; and
WHEREAS, over the years, Fulks Run Grocery has been a truly family-run business; Garnett Turner's brother, Miles Turner, took over the grocery store portion of the operation in 1969, while his son and daughter-in-law, Ron and Peggie Turner, have owned both Fulks Run Grocery and the Turner Ham House since 1996, managing the store with the help of Ron's sisters; and
WHEREAS, while grocery stores and the preferences of customers have changed since 1949, Fulks Run Grocery has found a niche that allows it to thrive, offering a unique inventory that includes locally made products, jams, jellies, and Polish pottery; and
WHEREAS, Fulks Run Grocery has brightened many lives through its delectable ham and gracious customer service, demonstrating what can be accomplished through hard work and an enterprising spirit; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Fulks Run Grocery, beloved local establishment and purveyor of the celebrated Turner Hams, on the occasion of the store's 70th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Garnett Turner, founder of Fulks Run Grocery, as an expression of the General Assembly's heartfelt admiration for the store's contributions to the Shenandoah Valley and the Commonwealth.
