ROSS and Jenny Reynolds built the only store in Kergunyah in an empty paddock more than 24 years ago.
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The couple sold the Kergunyah General Store and Caravan Park and spent their last day in the shop on Monday.
“We built it ourselves from scratch,” Mrs Reynolds said.
“I don’t remember how long it took to build to be honest, it was a while ago and I had two kids and was pregnant at the time.”
Mr and Mrs Reynolds moved out to Kergunyah from Wodonga with their young family in 1992.
“Ross always wanted to buy land out of town so we moved out here and we already had a house and a few acres,”
The general store and caravan park was renowned for its hamburgers and sold fishing supplies, takeaway food and groceries for holidays makers and locals.
“It was very sad last day in the shop,” Mrs Reynolds said.
We’ve been here a long time, and we really just want to say thank you to our customers and all the people who supported us over the years.
- Jenny Reynolds
“Ross and I don’t want to make a fuss,”
“We’ve been here a long time.
“We really just want to say thank you to our customers and the people who have supported us over the years.”
With a population of less than 200 people, Mrs Reynolds said Kergunyah remained very isolated in nature.
“Kergunyah hasn’t changed very much in 24 years,” she said.
“It’s still all mainly farming land, there’s not a great deal of houses.”
“We got a lot of tourist trade because we’re not far off the highway, we’d get a lot of holiday makers.
“It’s a nice area, it’s got a lush valley with lots of swimming holes, good camping.”
The Reynolds’ daughter, Marnie Bartel now of Melbourne, said she has very fond memories from growing up in Kergunyah and working at her parents shop and caravan park.
“The families who would come up from Melbourne would always have kids and we would play spotlight tiggy in the caravan park and have campfires,” she said.
“One of my fondest memories is working in the shop as a teenager and probably meeting all the different people who stayed in the caravan park.”
Mrs Bartel recognised the achievement of her parents and the hard work they put into the store.
“Twenty-four years is a long time, people get shorter for murder,” she joked.
Mr and Mrs Reynolds are looking forward to spending more time with their grandchildren.
The general store and caravan park has been purchased by the Ginnivan family from Albury/Wodonga and will remain a general store.
