The following was part of a 33-part series on The Towns of Stoddard County which appeared in the Puxico Press in 1989-90.

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Four miles east of the junction with Highway 25 on Highway AB lies a small nestling of homes known as Avert. The name, legend has it, was given by a postmaster to "avert" confusion. The town's name, however, is pronounced with the accent on the first syllable, rather than the last.

An early railroad town, Avert had two stores, two hotels, and two doctors in the time preceding World War I. Long time resident Roy Ward said, "One preacher thought Avert would be the biggest town in Stoddard County."

Though hardly that, Avert still does have a grocery store that also serves as a gas station, owned and run by Homer Mize, 89, and his wife Virgie, 87. And the railroad still comes through, though it rarely stops.

Mize, born in Arkansas and from Texas, moved to Avert in 1949 when his wife's health began to fail in order to be nearer to her relatives. He enjoys his work, especially "joking around with the folks" who come into his store.

"One young girl came through last week," Mize stated, "real late, you know? She came in, looked around funny like, and she asked me what this," he gestured around the store building, "was. Well, I told her it was a store. She said she she'd never seen the like." Mize chuckled a bit before adding, "I asked her where she was from and she said St. Louis."

The young lady, who only recently moved to Bloomfield from the Big City, vowed to return and visit Mize once more.

Ward urged Mize to tell about being "the mayor of Avert." After some convincing, Mize related he had been stopped by the Missouri State Highway Patrol at one time on a trip back from Dudley, where he bought eggs for his store. He told the patrolman he was sorry, and was let go with a warning, but when he go back to town that he had used the excuse of being the mayor of Avert to duck a ticket.

Three rural schools were once near Avert -- Avert School, Beech Grove School and Clines Island School. They are now used as churches. The store building itself was formerly the home of Cliff Lear, railroad foreman, Mize said.

The Mizes try to keep the store stocked with basic necessities, and do fairly well, considering the location. Mize noted that many small stores have gone by the wayside since they started their business.

"There were stores everywhere," he said of the time when they opened up.

Bigger stores, with their ability to buy in large quantities and thus undersell smaller stores, led to their decline, Mize said.

Although up in years, the Mizes are still working. "We have a lot of good friends here," Virginia Mize said. "We've done all right. The Lord's been good to us."

When they move on, the people of Avert will miss the Mizes. A piece of true Americana will be lost when the small grocery closes its doors for the last time. But, until that time, Homer Mize will be happy to sit a spell and joke with any and all comers. He might even sell you some groceries.

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Since the time this story was first published, the store indeed closed and the Mizes have died. The store was an interesting place and although I visited it only once, I doubt I will ever forget it.