Thursday, March 28, 2024

The queen of Vienna Dairy Queen retires

Sandy at DQ 001
After 37 years Sandy Gould has retired from Vienna Dairy Queen. February 1st was her last official day.

By Dixie Terry

The Vienna Times

Sandy Gould is retiring!  After thirty-seven years of serving Blizzards and all those other tasty treats at the Vienna Dairy Queen, she will hang up her uniform and call it a well-spent career.

February 1 was her last day to greet and serve her customers, of which there is a long list over the past nearly four decades.

Prior to signing on at DQ, Sandy worked for Rosemary Orr at the Bob White Cafe at West Vienna for more than four years.  There, she served as cashier, grill cook, and sometimes as janitor.

She began at DQ in 1979,  “the year of the big blizzard,” that hit in Johnson County, and not the DQ variety.

The owners in 1979 were Stud Walker and his son, Greg, who was Sandy’s boss until they sold the business to Ann and Chester Lawrence.  The present owners, Scott Coleman and Joel Neikirk, purchased the DQ some four years ago, from the Lawrences.

Coleman had nothing but praise for Sandy, saying she was very dedicated to her work, was loved by everybody, is easy to get along with, and is very thoughtful of others.  She will be missed by co-workers and her customers.

She had never considered retiring, until recently when health problems reminded her it just might be a good time to slow down.

The Vienna DQ will be hosting a meet-and-greet reception for Sandy on Sat., Feb. 6, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., with the public urged to drop by.    Coleman will donate 10% of that entire day’s sales to the charity of Sandy’s choice.  “That’s our way of showing our appreciation of her years here.” said Coleman.

She decided to give the amount to the Will and Marcie Grant family, whose rural Vienna home and belongings were destroyed by fire last week.

Sandy’s original career plans were to be a teacher, but that didn’t pan out, she shared, so serving others in another capacity became the long-time career of choice.

Sandy’s parents were Gene and Geraldine Gould, whose farm home bordered both the Goreville and Buncombe school districts.  She attended grade school in Buncombe and then high school in Goreville.  She graduated in 1974 and then attended Shawnee College.

She has two older sisters, Judy, in Alabama, Dolores in Mt. Vernon, along with two nieces, Rebecca, in Alabama, Beth Ann in Naperville, and a step-niece in Mt. Vernon.

Sandy has many good memories of dedicated customers, and also some humorous memories, probably enough to write a book.

She recalled learning how to make the first Blizzards, that were introduced in 1985, and she told of the three remodeling projects of the store’s interior, from the original orange and brown, to the blue and white, and the most recent, the contemporary neutral shades.

Sandy has no plans for travel after her retirement, but she does plan to offer her services in volunteering. She is involved in her church, the Vienna Church of Christ, and is looking for local organizations who need volunteers.

She also plans to take up a long-past hobby of oil painting.  “It’s been years, but I would like to take a class and get started again.”  She also watches television and spends time with a friend in Paducah.

“I had planned to go out quietly,” she said, when told of the upcoming reception, but it seems her co-workers have other plans.

“I’ll be back out here quite often,” she said, visiting and enjoying her favorite DQ treat, “any kind of ice cream!”

5 comments

  1. Congratulations Sandy! I wish I were home to be at the reception but am in Utah for awhile.

  2. I told Marcie grant about what charity you chose sandy and she said they appreciate it and are very thankful.

  3. Such a wonder you are My sweet friend. Congrats to you and much love. Deon Newton. We need to paint together sometime. deon

  4. Have a great retirement! Ruthie and I love you and wish you well, and we hope you stay in touch.

  5. Suzanne (Price) Griffiths

    Oh dear I miss you very much! Congratulations on your retirement. I have a lot of fond memories of the years working with you! Pick up that brush and paint a wonderful retirement 🙂