OBIT: Lane, 2001, Boyle Co. 

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From the Danville Advocate Messenger, 5 Dec 2001

Alma Penn Lane, 86, operator of Penn's Store near Gravel Switch, said 
to be the oldest continuously family-owned grocery in America, died 
Tuesday at Casey County Hospital.

The Forkland store, which is on the county line of Boyle and Casey, 
has been a popular gathering place for years and visited by people 
throughout the country. Haskell Penn ran the store for many years 
until his death in 1993, and Lane was involved with the store bought 
by her great-grandfather, Gabriel Jackson Penn in 1850, for most 
of her life. 

Penn's Store made national headlines in 1992 when it added an outhouse. 
A celebration of outhouse races hosted by Chet Atkins that year has 
become a popular annual fall festival. Events such as literary readings 
and Christmas celebrations are other year-round attractions. In recent 
years, Penn's Store has become a magnet for crafters and wood carvers 
and artists of all walks of life as well as hosting whittlers and tall-
tale tellers around its woodburning stove.

According to Lane's daughter, Jeanne Penn Lane, she was good at giving 
advice and known for her patience and her ability to keep cool and 
calm in stressful situations. 

Born Sept. 16, 1915, in Casey County, Lane was the daughter of David M. 
and Nina S. Moreland Penn. She attended the one-room Hall School near 
the store. She graduated from Forkland High School and had been a 
factory worker and had held other jobs apart from the store. 

She was the widow of Robert Lane Jr. 

Additional survivors include a granddaughter, Dawn Osborn Graas; and 
a great-granddaughter.

Services will be 1 p.m. Friday at Carey and Sons Funeral Home in 
Springfield.

Visitation will be from 2-9 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home and 
from 8 a.m. until time of services Friday.