In 1975 the town of Stanley declared September 5th as Mr. Bob Shook Day. It was his 100th birthday.
He was born in Catawba County on September 5, 1875 to Camilla Heffner and David Emmanuel Shook
While growing up he helped his father with chores on the farm but his first real job was in
construction. He built houses and barns in the community and later worked with
construction crews that built the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and the Lake Junaluska Methodist
Assembly Hall.
George Robert Shook was married in Catawba County on 16 February 1899 to Margaret Killian, (born 2
Jan. 1878) and they were married 54 years until her death on 3 February 1953.
Bob and Margaret Shook moved to Stanley around 1904 following his parents and brothers
and sisters who had moved from Catawba County. Bob and Margaret only lived here a short while
before moving with his young family to Pumpkin Center where he ran a grocery store; and then a while
later the family moved to Maiden. In 1925 Bob Shook purchased the meat market in Stanley from Logan
H. Goodson and the family moved back to Stanley.
He ran the meat market for only a short while and then began selling groceries in the store near the
Lutheran Church that had been previously run by James S. Fox and his wife, Mary A. Wallace Fox.
Sometime in the early 1930's Bob Shook went into partnership with Warren Abemathy in a grocery
store Warren began in February of 1928. This store was located north in the next block, beside
McKelvey's Drugs.
After Warren Abemathy's death at age 32 on 29 November 1934, Paul Shook, Bob's brother, went into
the grocery business with him. Some time later they moved their grocery business a block south into the
McLurd building next to the Post Office. At age 72 Bob sold his share in the business to his brothers but
continued to work at the store without pay until around age 94.
The Bob Shook family attended Christ's Lutheran Church where he was responsible for ringing the
church bell, which he did every Sunday for forty three years until the new sanctuary was built and they no
longer had the bell.
George Robert Shook died at the age of 102 on 23 October 1977. He and his wife, Margaret, are buried
in Christ Lutheran Church Cemetery.
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