Thelma’s Is No More
Thelma’s is no more. Leveled by a bulldozer, the former general store and ice cream shop on Colvin Run Road in Great Falls, Virginia stood for years as a reminder of what northern Virginia must have looked like before everyone arrived.
I only went in maybe three times for ice cream with my girls, the last time in May after a trip to the park. But walking through the front door, after passing by where the gas pumps must have once serviced a ‘40 Ford or a ‘57 Chevy, you felt like you were walking back into a time and place long gone. It reminded me of my grandfather’s store in Mechanicsville, where my cousins and I would sneak behind the counter and steal candy while he dozed in the chair.
While I can’t claim to have been a regular customer, I liked going to Thelma’s when I did go, because it leveled me, like the bulldozer leveled it, to the ground, where Tyson’s Corner seemed a world away and you could hear the squeak of the wooden door behind you as you made your way across the wooden floor to the counter. The lady behind the counter was so nice, patiently waiting for my four year old to figure out what she wanted. As she handed her the cone, it seemed like her only desire at that moment was make my daughter happy.
The property’s owner plans to build a new store and reopen the ice cream shop. I’ll go there, and hope that girls who never knew my grandfather and his store will remember a spring afternoon at Thelma’s.