A world without Walmart is hard to fathom. The retail giant's 3400 U.S. stores have done a lot of good for both the American and Chinese economies. But, "Wally World" has also put a lot of Mom & Pop businesses in their graves.
In a small community like Riverside, there was no such thing as Walmart during the 1960's-70's. But, Riverside did not need a Walmart. There were several small grocery stores, one drug store, a couple of barber shops, a dry cleaners, a filling station or two, and a funeral home. Folks in Riverside could shop, get their clothes and their hair groomed, buy cold medicine and band-aids, fill up their gas tank, and get "laid out right" at the end - all without leaving our little community.
There were three, really "classy" stores/businesses in Riverside. (By way of disclaimer, it is noted that ALL businesses in Riverside had their own element of "class," given that they were located in a such a classy community as ours.)
First, there was Gary's Grocery. Mr. C.J. Gary ran the typical, small-town grocery store. Dry goods, groceries, meats, fresh "Farmer's Market" fruits and vegetables, candy and soft drinks, and a host of other products lined the shelves. Mr. Gary delivered to selected, nearby households, and was always willing to take suggestions from his customers regarding new items to consider adding to his inventory. Going to Mr. Gary's store was always a treat for a young man. Mr. Gary was an interesting man, with lots of stories to tell. He also frequently gave candy to the children who were sent in by their mothers on purchasing errands.
The second classiest business in Riverside was Smallwood's Barber Shop. The three Smallwood brothers ran their business in a small building at the corner of Bolton Road and Paul Avenue. These brothers did two things in their shop. One of them, obviously, was cutting hair. The other was playing music. One brother played the banjo, another the fiddle, and another the guitar. If one dropped out to handle a customer, the other two kept right on picking.
The Smallwoods were not great barbers. They knew only one style of haircut - a white-sidewall, military, "high and tight." Anything other than this was uncharted territory. A customer could ask them for any style haircut under the sun. But, when the job was finished and the client climbed out of that barber chair, the final result was fashioned more to the Smallwood's preference than their customer's.
Just like the old story about a long-haired hippie who came into a crusty old barber's shop back in the 1980's.
This old barber wore a flat-top, played nothing but traditional country stations on his shop's radio, and disliked anything that was not politically conservative or Southern. The hippie bounded into his shop one day, plopped down and said, "Hey dude, I want a 'Billy Idol' haircut." Billy Idol was a rock star during the 1980's. William Michael Albert Broad (Idol's real name) was a tiny fellow, with short, snow-white hair. One of Idol's trademarks was his hair style. He wore it heavy with gel, and combed to stand straight up on his head.
The old barber was not familiar with Mr. Idol nor his coiffure. He said nothing in reply to the young, long-haired, man. Throwing a barber cloth around his neck, he spun the chair around so his young customer could not see the mirror. With clippers in hand, the old barber made about three swipes over the hippie's scalp, leaving him with a completely "buzzed" head. He quickly spun the young man back around so "she" could see "his" new look in the mirror. The young fellow shrieked in horror and shouted, "That's NOT how Billy Idol would get his hair cut!" The old barber shot back, "It would be if he came in here!"
If you went into Smallwood's for a haircut, you came out looking like they wanted you to. Very much as if you had just enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.
What the Smallwood's did do well was bluegrass - as well as deeply traditional country, and old, "down-home" gospel. Many folks frequented their humble shop - but mostly for the music rather than the haircuts.
The classiest business in Riverside did not sell groceries, drugs, gasoline, or haircuts.
They sold furniture.
Tidwell's Furniture Store was probably a little too classy for our community. Their store was a modest, free-standing building, which sat next to a gas station near the corner of Bolton Road and South Cobb Drive. The Tidwell family had been merchants in the Bolton/Riverside area for generations.
Their store was always clean, elegantly styled, and the only store in Riverside with air conditioning. Tidwell's did not sell junk. Their furniture was only the best quality, and very reasonably priced.
This writer remembers Tidwell's vividly for two reasons.
First, they accepted payments for utility bills. Both Georgia Power and Atlanta Gas Light had granted Tidwell's the right to collect monthly payment of electric and natural gas bills. This was a very smart business decision, as it brought potential customers into their store on a regular basis.
Mrs. Tidwell usually handled the payment process. She had a clipboard or payment book for each company. She recorded each payment carefully in the appropriate book or ledger, and with the neatest handwriting this young lad had ever seen. It was a pleasure to watch her neatly and unhurriedly make the payment entries on those pages. While doing so, she was always careful to ask how the family was doing, and talk about her family as well. She was a very gracious lady - never acting as if these bill payments were an annoyance to her. She seemed very glad to have the interaction with her neighbors.
The second reason for this writer's high regard for Tidwell's Furniture Store had to do with a present he received for his thirteenth birthday.
Whenever Mama went to Tidwell's, her son always asked to accompany her. In later years, when her health was failing, it was her son who went each month for her. While Mama and Mrs. Tidwell visited with one another, it was quite an adventure to roam around the store looking at their merchandise. Again, this is exactly what this savvy, business-minded, family had in mind.
Tidwell's not only sold high quality furniture, but they also carried a respectable array of color televisions and stereos. One particular unit caught this thirteen year old's eye on a Tidwell's visit in the Fall of 1968. It was a desktop style, AM/FM, stereo turntable and 8-track tape player combo.
At age thirteen, young boys begin yearning for two things - their own room, and a way to listen to, "their music." Earlier that year, Mama and Daddy had consented for their son to move his things into the tiny back bedroom of the family's small, Riverside home. It was time for he and his younger sister to stop sharing a room. With one prayer answered, all that was left was the acquisition of a stereo record/tape player.
One of the Tidwells came over that day and demonstrated the stereo unit. The turntable was smooth, and the built-in, 8-track tape player looked so cool as it changed from one track to the next. The AM/FM stereo radio got great reception from all the local music stations. Who could have asked for more? This young listener stood there for what seemed to be an eternity, lost in the music and the great sound that came out of that stereo.
What a surprise it was when this thirteen-year-old birthday boy was presented with that same stereo as his gift. Second prayer answered! What a way to welcome in the teen years!
Evidently, both Mrs. Tidwell and Mama had taken note during that visit of her son's fixation on this piece of audio gear. Mama paid for the unit that day, and had Daddy pick up a brand new, still-in-the-box, version of it a few days later. It was one of the greatest birthday presents a young man could have received. It might as well have been a gift from heaven.
Though it did not come from above, that stereo, and the timeless memories of those monthly visits to the, "classiest store in Riverside," were priceless gifts, nonetheless. No trip to any Walmart, anywhere, anytime, will ever equal shopping with the neighborhood merchants of this writer's beloved home community.
To Mr. C.J. Gary, the Smallwood brothers, the Tidwell family, and all the store owners of Riverside...
Thank you for helping make our community the very "classy" place it was. It is on this 11th day of March, 2011 - on what would have been my late mother's 89th birthday - that I salute you.
"Well I'll Be John Brown"
- David Decker
March 11, 2011
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