Home > United States of America > Nevada > Churchill County > Fallon > Churchill County Cemetery > Ida Belle “Big Ida” Via Mahone

Ida Belle “Big Ida” Via Mahone

View larger map

Birth	:	2 May 1892 Free Union, Albemarle County, Virginia, USA
Death	:	15 Jan 1972 Charlottesville, Charlottesville City, Virginia, USA
Burial	:	Churchill County Cemetery, Fallon, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate	:	39.4812900, -118.7518500
Plot	:	Section 9 Block 5 Lot 4 Grave 14
Description	:	When Ida Belle Via was born on May 2, 1892, in Free Union, Virginia, her father, John, was 49, and her mother, Mary, was 42. She married Robert Alexander Mahone on February 26, 1921, in her hometown. They had five children during their marriage. She died on January 15, 1972, in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 79, and was buried in Roseland, Virginia. Since Evelyn Mahone Gantt's mother, Maria Nelson Mahone, died when when her oldest child was only less than three years old, Ida is the only Mahone Grandmother they ever knew. Ida was her... Read More	When Ida Belle Via was born on May 2, 1892, in Free Union, Virginia, her father, John, was 49, and her mother, Mary, was 42. She married Robert Alexander Mahone on February 26, 1921, in her hometown. They had five children during their marriage. She died on January 15, 1972, in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 79, and was buried in Roseland, Virginia. Since Evelyn Mahone Gantt's mother, Maria Nelson Mahone, died when when her oldest child was only less than three years old, Ida is the only Mahone Grandmother they ever knew. Ida was her step-mother, the second wife of Robert A. Mahone, Sr. Evelyn's children said they felt a much greater closeness to her than they ever did to their surviving grandmother Gantt who lived much closer to them. Big Ida, as she was know to her step-grandchildren, and Father Mahone were the "fixers" in their lives. If anything was wrong, the Gantt children would go to them to make it right. While Evelyn's relationship with her father may at times have been strained before her marriage, her children apparently never had that problem and is not that the way it normally is with grandparents. Ida ran the country store owned by her husband for years until the sales tax was instituted and figured it was about time to retire. She closed the store but continued to live in the building until the building was flooded by Hurricane Camille in 1969. The building was right by the Tye River and during the night water came at least halfway up the steps. She is said to have started to come down the steps during the night of the storm only to step into water and go back to bed. The house was so badly damaged that it was later torn down. She went to live with her children after that time. ——————————————————————————— Massies Mill Store to Shut Down After 100 Years in the Same Family October 1966 By BOYCE LOVING Daily Progress Staff Reporter MASSIES MILL - "I know I'm going to miss it," the woman said wistfully as she looked around at the almost bare shelves of a small general store. Mrs. Ida Via (Robert A.) Mahone, who sold all but the perishable stock in her store on Oct. 8, will close out as soon as she has disposed of the remaining goods. She has been operating the store since the death of her husband. Oct. 20, 1941. Mrs. Mahone, 74, said her husband opened a store at a different site in Massies Mill in 1896 and moved to the present location in 1901. Prior to that, Mahone's father (Alexander Buffon Mahone) and his brother, Walter, had operated stores in Massies Mill since soon after the Civil War, making about 100 years in which there has been a Mahone general store in Massies Mill. The brother erected the present store building. Mrs. Mahone, the former Miss Ida Via, was born May 2, 1892, in Free Union, the daughter of John W. and Mary Crenshaw Via. She married Feb. 26, 1921. She and her husband had five children Robert A. Mahone, Jr., Rochester, N.Y; Mrs. Ida Stebbing, Richmond: Frank Mahone, Lynchburg; and Mrs. Mary Lyle, Burke: and David C. Mahone, Batesville. There are 14 grandchildren. Mrs. Mahone recalls well the days before the pre-packaging of just try not to put too much pressure on yourself you know what I mean don't get caught up in the game old brands you know Williams Harvard all this all works out in the end you end up with right grocery items. She said she had "weighed out" many a pound of sugar, coffee, flour, meal, fat pork and pepper. She said she always hated to weigh out black pepper, be cause it got up her nose. She said lard always came in wooden or metal buckets or tubs and had to be weighed. Coal oil, or kerosene, the principal fuel for lamps and lanterns had to be pumped from a barrel, as did vinegar and molasses. Mrs. Mahone was keeping store during the days when country people brought live chickens, eggs, butter, cured. hams and other commodities to the store to swap, or barter, for articles they needed. Why did she decide to close out her business and retire? She said she thought about it last winter, but believes she would have kept on a little longer, had it not been for the sales tax. She said the tax took too much time and trouble, so she thought she might as well quit. What will she do, now that she won't be "tending store?" Mrs. Mahone said she usually had a piece of sewing or crocheting handy she lives in the building in which the store is located to work on when business was slack. She has made patchwork quilts for her children and has crocheted several bedspreads and tablecloths. "I can't just sit and do nothing, after all these years of working." she explained, adding that she hoped to visit her children. "There hasn't been a period longer than a week that I've been away from the store since I began running it," she concluded. When she isn't visiting. she said she would continue making quilts, crocheting and doing other handwork. If Mrs. Mahone will miss the store particularly the people who patronized it, the community will miss the pleasant little storekeeper, too. Country and village stores frequently are lively centers where friends meet, exchange news and views and come to know each other better. They some times become the hub of community life. Although there are other, and larger stores, at Massies Mill, Mrs. Mahone said she has regular customers who have traded with her the entire 25 years she has been running the store. Some of these dealt with her husband before she took over. Mrs. Mahone hasn't always been a housewife-mother-store-keeper. She enrolled at Harrisonburg State Teachers College - (now Madison College) the first year it opened-1908 - and attended five years. She completed her high school education and took the two-year normal training course then offered. Before her marriage, she taught in the public schools of Albemarle County, at Brandy Station and in Tidewater Virginia. She is a member of Grace Episcopal Church, located near her store-residence.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Ida Belle “Big Ida” Via Mahone's memorial?
Ida Belle “Big Ida” Via Mahone's memorial is located at: Churchill County Cemetery, Fallon, Churchill County, USA.
When did Ida Belle “Big Ida” Via Mahone death?
Ida Belle “Big Ida” Via Mahone death on 15 Jan 1972 in Charlottesville, Charlottesville City, Virginia, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Ida Belle “Big Ida” Via Mahone's memorial?
Latitude: 39.4812900
Longitude: -118.7518500

Family Members:

Parent

Spouse

Robert Alexander Mahone

(1875 - 1941)

Siblings

Children

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Churchill County Cemetery
Fallon, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.4812900, -118.7518500

2. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Columbarium
Fallon, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.4701760, -118.7755950

3. Gardens Cemetery
Fallon, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.4751000, -118.7234000

4. Allen Road Cemetery
Fallon, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.4275000, -118.8000000

5. Saint Clair Cemetery
Fallon, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.4150009, -118.7782974

6. Rosewood Drive Cemetery
Fallon, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.4731400, -118.8431100

7. Stillwater Indian Cemetery
Stillwater, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.5210300, -118.6192300

8. Lawrence Ranch Cemetery
Stillwater, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.5272310, -118.5558870

9. Hazen Cemetery
Hazen, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.5678610, -119.0524410

10. Turner Grave Site
Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.2915479, -118.4477394

11. Wrightman Ranch Cemetery
Fallon, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.2026000, -118.4540000

12. Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery
Fernley, Lyon County, USA
Coordinate: 39.6186981, -119.2291031

13. Fernley Desert Memorial Garden
Fernley, Lyon County, USA
Coordinate: 39.6170006, -119.2310028

14. Desert Memorial Gardens
Silver Springs, Lyon County, USA
Coordinate: 39.3986015, -119.2872009

15. Fraternal Cemetery
Wadsworth, Washoe County, USA
Coordinate: 39.6379776, -119.2810287

16. Wadsworth Cemetery
Wadsworth, Washoe County, USA
Coordinate: 39.6390300, -119.2808200

17. Fort Churchill Cemetery
Lyon County, USA
Coordinate: 39.2956009, -119.2667007

18. Copeland Ranch Cemetery
Wadsworth, Washoe County, USA
Coordinate: 39.6841380, -119.2707910

19. Fairview Cemetery
Frenchman, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.2719002, -118.1875000

20. Dixie Valley Cemetery
Dixie Valley, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.6521090, -118.1466400

21. Schurz Paiute Indian Cemetery
Schurz, Mineral County, USA
Coordinate: 38.9740982, -118.8443985

22. Rawhide Cemetery
Mineral County, USA
Coordinate: 39.0424995, -118.4019012

23. Wonder Cemetery
Middlegate, Churchill County, USA
Coordinate: 39.4247600, -118.0580900

24. Nixon Cemetery
Nixon, Washoe County, USA
Coordinate: 39.8330300, -119.3554000