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Three Hill Country families are entwined with a tiny store that sits stubbornly like a tough mesquite clinging to the spine of the Texas Divide where two unique highways meet. At the crossroads of the mighty U.S. Highway 83 and its diminutive companion, Texas State Highway 41, Garven’s Store has seen travelers as diverse as retired snowbirds seeking relief from the Midwest’s wintry blasts to free-spirited motorcyclists traveling between Canada and Mexico. Open daily, this modest but enduring “last stop” has survived 75 years of economic upheavals and structural relocation. Gas, food, and beef jerky are available there; greeting dusty travelers inside with friendly welcomes are the people who reflect five generations of family ownership. Its owners say that the store’s future may be in doubt, as U.S. 83 expands into a four-lane highway, which could put the building in jeopardy. If it were to be moved, however, this wouldn’t be the first time.
Billy and Shirley Dowdy keep a close eye on Garven’s Store, which they have run since 1998, and live within a half-mile on his grandfather’s original homestead. Shirley, herself once a city girl, said she had wanted to live out on the Divide from the time she first visited, and she finally got her wish. She has also become involved in helping keep the story of the related families alive. That history includes the tragic murders of four Dowdy children in the 1800s (see West Kerr Current issue, Feb. 9, 2006). However, it is only a small chapter of this longtime West Kerr County family’s history. The following generations managed to forge onward, marry and prosper.
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