Sarah Haas, Nederland.   The B&F Mountain Market may not be the flashiest grocery store there ever was, but up here, it’s beloved. As the only full-service grocer along the Peak-to-Peak, it’s not just a place to buy food but a place we all come together as neighbors. In this, the age of big box stores and internet retailers, such down-home aspects are best not taken for granted. It’s one thing to have a place to pick up an emergency carton of milk, quite another to know the person in line behind you is likely to pay the tab when you realize you forgot your wallet. From the shopper’s point-of-view, the B&F is a home away from home.

The check-out crew there has an entirely different perspective into the mountain way of life. They see us, locals and tourists alike, come in and out, bags empty and then full. They see us all dolled up, getting ready for a date just like they do on Sunday night, when we’re in our PJs staring at the ice cream cooler for an inexcusably long amount of time. Not to say that’s our best and our worst, but the cashiers do see us at both extremes; and if you’re Summer Nicole Knight, you’re looking us in the eye and giving us a big ‘ol smile either way.

“This sounds silly to say out loud,” she says, “but being kind isn’t just the golden rule, it’s the secret to happiness. I believe that everyday you wake up and, even though you can’t necessarily pick what’s going on, you can choose what bothers you. So I go to work and try to make everyone smile, because then they make me smile, and then everybody’s doing okay.”

Having grown up in Nederland, B&F shoppers aren’t just Summer’s customers, they’re people she’s known a very long time — family, friends, former classmates and teachers. As she says, it can be hard in a small town to keep your life separate from work, but luckily for Summer, she genuinely loves her community and lives a life that is enviously uncomplicated with small town dramas.

“I really like people here,” she says, “everyone knows me and they like me too. I have a good reputation in town and I feel really taken care of, really supported.”

But 25 going on 26, Summer is old and wise enough to know that living is full of ups and downs, which is to say that she, like the rest of us, doesn’t always feel like smiling. She’s open about how it can be hard to see folks she knows from the cashier’s side of the aisle at the B&F.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love to see old friends come through. It’s so good to see them successful and happy. They knew what they wanted, where they wanted to go and they stuck to it. Now, when they come back home to Nederland, they’re enriched with so many experiences. But it’s hard to see them too, because I’ve struggled to know exactly what I want and because I still dream about things like finishing college, getting a high paying job, having a family.”

From the way she speaks, you wouldn’t think Summer had ventured far out of Nederland at all, but she’s lived in Texas, twice, and Idaho, once. Plus she’s tough — as a kid she was often the one holding a struggling grownup’s hand while they went through really hard stuff and she’s given up her own dreams once or twice to make sure someone she loved had her support. Life can be hard for a person with a good heart and a good work ethic because, as Summer says, you’ll wake up one day and realize your ambitions lie untouched because you’ve been so consumed with day-to-day life and relationships.

Summer has the really important things down pat though. She makes eye contact when she talks, takes pride in a job well done, lives in the moment, but doesn’t get lost in it. She pretty much always smiles, and of all the interviews I’ve ever given, she’s the only one who finished every answer with a, “And what about you?” She cares about people.

With so much of life still ahead of her, there’s no telling what Summer will do. Maybe she’ll follow in her Dad and brother’s footsteps and become a software engineer. Maybe some lucky fella will finally take her to a country concert where she can dance and sing with thousands of other Texas ex-pats to the tunes of Eric Church. Or, maybe she’ll stay in Ned and have a big ol’ family that she’ll shop for in the aisles of the B&F. Either way, she’ll keep on wearing her cowboy boots, speaking with a delightful drawl and smiling at you in just such a way to make you feel right at home.

A weekly column about locals living along the Peak-to-Peak. To suggest someone for a profile please email Sarah at mountainfolktales@gmail.com. No story is too big or too small.