[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 203 (Wednesday, December 2, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H6041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE LIFE OF MRS. MARY WOODRUFF

  (Mr. CLINE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to 
recognize Mrs. Mary Woodruff of Amherst County, Virginia, who turned 
104 years young last week.
  Born and raised in Amherst, Mrs. Woodruff and her husband of 63 years 
built their iconic country store in 1952 with their own two hands, near 
the site where Mary's grandfather opened the first Black-owned business 
in the county.
  For decades they served their community, providing groceries to 
locals and gas to travelers, all while raising five children and 
several foster children in the apartment above the store.
  This multigenerational family business was reinvented as Woodruff's 
Cafe and Pie Shop by Mary's youngest daughter, Angela Scott, in 1998. 
Since then, business has been booming, attracting patrons from far and 
wide to try their delicious pies, including a visit from Al Roker from 
the ``Today'' show last year.
  To this day, nearly 70 years after opening the country store's doors, 
the 104-year-old Mary Woodruff still works at the shop and ``holds 
court'' at the back table where she greets customers and tells stories. 
Mrs. Woodruff, her family, and the pies are truly a blessing to our 
central Virginia community.

  I wish Mrs. Woodruff a very happy birthday, and I look forward to 
stopping by the shop sometime soon.

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