Photo by Hunter Wilson/Daily NewsLiz Miller, who recently retired after working at Dollar General for more than 20 years, speaks with her district manager Friday afternoon.

After 61 years of working in downtown Bowling Green, Norma Elizabeth &#8220Liz” Miller, was honored Friday at City Hall with a proclamation from local leaders that Aug. 31 is officially her day.

&#8220And we are going to miss you,” Bowling Green Mayor Elaine Walker said as she handed Miller a signed document declaring &#8220Norma Elizabeth Miller Day.”

&#8220This is one of the things that make our downtown so special. You have people like Norma Miller who is one of the fixtures in our community,” Walker said.

Born March 30, 1930, Miller started her employment history at Woolworths in 1946, where she worked for two years before going to work at National Stores in 1948 for 27 years.

In 1975, she returned to Woolworths for a period of 12 years, until the unthinkable happened – Woolworths closed in 1987.

&#8220I went home and I had never drawn a free dollar,” Miller said.

The following Monday, Miller said she went to the unemployment office to get benefits.

&#8220I thought I would draw it at least six weeks to give me a rest, you know? I went home and stayed one week, and this lady who was a manager at Dollar General called me about two or three times a week and said ‘Liz, will you help me out? I am short of help,’ ” Miller said.

She resisted, but eventually re-entered the working world the following Tuesday.

Twenty years and four months later, Miller is retiring in a way she had never dreamed of.

&#8220I never thought it would come to this,” Miller said. &#8220I just thought, ‘Well, I’ll give her two weeks notice and be out of here.’ The news just flies don’t it?

&#8220But I’ve enjoyed every day I’ve been there. I’ve enjoyed the customers, all the people … I loved it. I loved it. I really hate to give it up, but it’s time for me to retire,” Miller said.

Miller joined Dollar General at a time when the company – which started in Scottsville – only had a few hundred stores.

Now based in Nashville, the company has more than 8,000 locations.

&#8220They have expanded. … The prices have stayed almost the same, but what you can find there was a lot cheaper than you could find anywhere else when I began,” Miller said. &#8220But now there’s so many other stores that’s competitive to them – they have the same prices you know.”

Donna Nelson, district manager for Dollar General for the last three years, said Miller was the main reason why she decided to take her position with the company.

&#8220I visited all the stores in the region,” Nelson said. &#8220She was one of the reasons why I took the position. People like her.”

Nelson said Bowling Green’s Main Street Dollar General Store is the 19th location in the company’s history. Now there are six Dollar General stores in Bowling Green, with another one on the way, she said.

&#8220We haven’t chosen a site for it yet,” Nelson said.

According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Dollar General plans to open 300 stores this year, 400 stores next year and 700 stores in 2009.

In a filing, Dollar General said in November that the company would close 400 stores nationwide by the end of its fiscal year, but Nelson calmed concerns that any of those locations would be in Kentucky.

&#8220The store closings are mainly in the Texas area,” Nelson said. &#8220None were in Kentucky. Those stores were in areas where the market was oversaturated and couldn’t support a Dollar General store.”

Walker said whether she was covered with paint while rehabbing a historic home or dressed to represent the city of Bowling Green, she found Miller’s treatment consistent.

&#8220She’s always treated people the same way – with respect,” Walker said. &#8220Go down College Street and stop in the stores. People love being downtown. There’s that sense of personal service and this is a perfect example.”

Warren County Fiscal Court District 2 Magistrate Richard Morgan, who participated in the proclamation at City Hall Friday, has known her for several years, he said.

&#8220She’s a character,” Morgan said.