Virginia Paul and her husband Rolf came to Morrison in 1969, where he set up a small printing business in their home. In 1984, she launched her own small business, the Morrison Country Store,* which would become one of the town’s lasting enterprises, drawing customers from across the metro area and beyond. I visited Ginny and documented her charming shop in these photographs in 2009.
Where Rolf was, Ginny writes, “an activist & a mover & a shaker” who served on the Town Board and even as Mayor for a time, she preferred to “stay out of all the controversy… and just be a good citizen.” And a very successful businesswoman, as evidenced by the longevity of the Morrison Country Store, a gift and décor oriented shop with a loyal clientele much like that once drawn by Thee Deacon’s Bench and the town’s many antique stores. The shop was closed in 2018, just two years before Ginny’s death in 2020.
Despite Ginny’s reticence, she did end up serving on the Town Board for several years after Rolf’s death, where she was “an advocate and voice for local businesses.”
Rolf and Ginny supported cultural events and organizations in Morrison and beyond, including the Jefferson Symphony and the Morrison Natural History Museum.
Ginny considered the museum “a great addition to the Town” and a “gift of culture to the metropolitan area.”
Ginny Paul and her Morrison Country Store are well remembered by Morrison residents and long-time visitors. Today the Morrison Mercantile carries on some of Ginny’s legacy, in another form.
Quotes above are from Ginny’s letter to the Town Board in February 2002, shortly after Rolf’s death, when she was drawn into ‘controversy and turmoil’ and spoke her mind in response to an edition of Lew’s News.
Remembering Virginia (Ginny) Paul
(Morrison Hogback newsletter, October 2020)We would like to remember the life of long-time resident, Ginny Paul. She was the definition of “Keep Morrison, Morrison” from her care and dedication to the Town, to her radiating entrepreneurial spirit and fruitful local business, Morrison Country Store. Ginny served her community well. She selfishly [sic] volunteered her time to the Planning Commission and Board of Trustees throughout her years. During Ginny’s time on the Board and Planning Commission, she was an advocate and voice for local businesses, an integral part in the Rooney Valley Development discussions and Town Comprehensive Plan update in 2008. Her insight as a resident and business owner allowed for a unique perspective that was appreciated and valued in the Boards’ policy making. Ginny will be greatly missed, and we send our sympathy to her friends and family. Morrison will not be the same without her.
* Actually, even before Ginny began her business, the location was known as the Morrison Country Store, run for many years by Tom and Bonnie Hicks, who specialized in antiques and collectibles.
Morrison History 