Courtney Huckbay

It‚s never a dull moment when you‚re working for the closest grocery store to Lake Tenkiller, according to Courtney Huckbay who has worked for Harps Store in Gore for the past two years.

The store, which is the only grocery store in Gore, known as the “Gateway to Lake Tenkiller” is busy but during the summer months, it gets even busier due to all the lake traffic, according to Huckbay.

“I enjoy my job. I get to meet a lot of people headed to the lake or some of the older residents who live locally. A lot of them like to give me advice such as ’don‚t take life for granted.‚ The customers are super nice and they like to make me laugh,” she said.

Huckbay, 19, said her duties consist of stocking shelves and working as a cashier plus any other duties she may be assigned.

“I see a lot of family and friends here. I‚m just a hometown girl so I know a lot of the regular customers who come here to shop,” she said. “I also get to meet a lot of new people here, some who live here and others who are passing through.”

Huckbay works at the store seven days a week. Her job consists of stocking groceries and is also a cashier.

“I meet all kinds of people here. Lakers can sometimes be stressful because but for the most part, many of them are surprised because they said the things we have here are things they don‚t see anywhere else. We don‚t just have food items but also lake and camping items, too. Visitors who come to this area for the first time said they‚ve heard so many things about Oklahoma and are surprised at how beautiful this area is. I once had some people from Hawaii come here. They had a friend or family who lived around the lake area and they were visiting. They said they loved it here. Life seemed so much easier here than in Hawaii,” she said.

Huckbay works at the store almost daily but mostly about 30 hours a week, she said.

When she is not working, she enjoys being a homebody and spending time with her cat, Calico. She also enjoys reading and sitting outdoors, just enjoying the peacefulness, she said.

In addition to working, Huckbay is also a student at Connors State College in Warner. Since this was her first year and she will begin a new semester in the fall, Huckbay said she is completing her basics and has not yet decided what her major will be.

“I just enjoy living here. I think the best part of living in this community are the people here. The people are really great. Seeing them on that one-on-one interaction just gives me that feeling of being part of the community,” Huckbay said.

“I grew up kind of quiet and working here has helped me to be more personable with people. We do get a lot of lake people here so working here has also taught me leadership skills. It‚s been a good job for me,” she said.

“What‚s funny is, I don‚t ever go to the lake,” she said, smiling. Just Folks. Just Folks is Your TIMES way of honoring the regular people of Sequoyah County, recognizing their unique talents, personalities, jobs, abilities, etc. Your TIMES appreciates the cooperation of each Just Folks and the public‚s nominations for this feature. If you know of someone you think might be a good story, contact Amie or Lynn at 918-775-4433.