Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Loads of Levis have passed through Davis Trading PostBy MICHAEL J. THOMPSON In the oldest store in Fayette County, a song plays on the radio that captures the atmosphere inside perfectly. John Mellencamps Small Town seems to be playing exclusively for Bill Davis, who for the past 59 years has been the owner of The Trading Post. The lifelong Fayetteville resident will always see the city he grew up in as a small town, and his store stands as a living monument to that memory. Today, the store celebrates its 59th year in business. Located on Ga. Highway 85, The Trading Post has established itself as the premier venue of jeans in the county, and the customer service Davis deploys has been able to attract loyal customers. While the song plays, a couple of customers come into the store. They both hail from different counties. Misti Patterson of Spalding County has her two children, Drew and Mary Ashley, with her. She has been coming in here for 20 years, said Davis, smiling. Another customer, Terry Denny of Coweta County, looks for a new pair of jeans. Hes been coming here probably 20 years also, Davis said. Denny nods in agreement. With its simple charm and unmatched hospitality, the store is a landmark business, which harkens back to the good old days of America that you hear your grandparents speak of with such fondness and admiration: when everyone in a certain town knew everyone else. Davis, 88, still remembers those days and recalls them with ease. I had been working in the Army for a couple of years and realized that wasnt what I wanted to do, he said, so I came home and started this business on June 22, 1946. Originally it was called Stinchcomb Lake Grocery and operated as a general store. That store was located on Ga. Highway 54. Back then, Peachtree City wasnt there and we had one of the few phones in the county at the store, and the guys who organized that city, used it all the time to work on getting the city built, he said, pride filling his voice. The store moved after 17 years in its first location, because Davis said there was more traffic on Ga. Highway 85 at the time. Then they built Peachtree City and well, the reverse became true, but I stayed in the current location, he said. He has two employees, Larry Jones and Donald Pope, who have worked at the store for 25 and 15 years respectively. Davis, who graduated from Fayette County High School, and his wife Margaret, have two children, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. They all reside in Fayette County. His memory is a sharp as ever. Davis recalls without hesitation the price of the first jeans he sold $2.95 which were the first Levis sold in the county in 1956. He remembers when Starrs Mill High School students bought nearly $7,000 worth of blue and grey camouflage pants during the 2000 run-up to the football state playoffs. But most of all, he remembers the Fayette County he grew up in. Not many people do or are still alive, he said. It was a real small town back then, and I used to know everyone who walked through that door, but I dont now. |
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Copyright 2004-Fayette Publishing, Inc. |