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Southern Lumber to close after six decades
by Stephanie Salmons
A store that’s been a Sylva mainstay for more than 60 years will close its doors for good in the coming months.
Founded in 1945 by Phil Stovall, Southern Lumber has been run by three generations of family members. Phil Stovall’s grandson, Tom Stovall, now operates the business.
“My grandfather brought a sawmill and planer back from Georgia after World War II,” Stovall said. “He started sawing and planing for some customers here and then started building. He built some houses and did some commercial work, but in the mid 1950s, he quit building and went straight to retail. We’ve been doing that ever since – ‘three generations of good service’ is our motto.”
Southern Lumber owner Tom Stovall stands in front of the business his grandfather founded more than six decades ago. The builders supply expanded into its current quarters in 1999. – Herald photo by Stephanie Salmons
Stovall’s father, Jimmy, worked at the store in the late 1950s, then came back to the store to work in 1972 and remained there until his death in 1983. Tom Stovall began working at the store full-time in 1980. His grandfather continued at the store until his death in 1991.
Stovall said working with his grandfather was “the greatest.”
“He was my best friend and business partner,” Tom Stovall said. “He was great to work with, but he was a little conservative. I guess if you were born in the horse-and-buggy days and grew up through the Great Depression, you couldn’t begrudge his conservative (ideas). But there’s no doubt he knew how to make money.”
Southern Lumber, which is located on Skyland Drive, moved into a new building in 1999.
“We used to be in a 1,500-square-foot building, and the store we’re in now is 15,000 square feet,” Stovall said. There wasn’t any place at the time in Sylva where you could get everything: building supplies, hardware, appliances, shop work. You couldn’t get all of that done (at one store) except for here, so that’s why I expanded. But no one can predict the future, and now we’re forced to close.”
Stovall said the business the store does doesn’t keep up with the costs, which is the main reason for closing.
“My grandfather wanted it to continue,” Stovall said, referring to the reason he followed in the family footsteps. “He knew there was a good living to be made here. It’s just outside economic pressure, something you can’t do anything about. The old mom-and-pop, family-owned, hardware stores are a thing of the past.”
Generations of families have shopped at Southern Lumber, according to Stovall, who said he had received a letter from a woman who said her family has been shopping at Southern Lumber for three generations.
“I know a lot of people out there remember my grandfather and the type of guy he was,” Stovall said. “His customers became my customers. Of course a lot of the older guys are gone now, too, but I still have people that come in here regularly who have been coming here for more than 50 years.”
There is no official closing date yet, although Stovall said he realized almost a year ago that the store would have to close.
“We did all we could,” Stovall said. “I mean it’s not to say it couldn’t have been saved, but it would have taken a lot of hard work, a lot more people and a lot more sales that just aren’t there right now.”
Stovall said there are too many stories from over the years to have just one stick out.
Although he said he is looking forward to starting the next chapter in his life, Stovall said he is sad to see the store close.
He also said loyal customers will be saddened by the departure of the long-standing store.
“We provide a lot of services you can’t get anywhere else, the personal service type thing, shop work, glass repairs, screen repairs. When we’re gone, there’s not going to be anyone to do this,” he said.
When Stovall found himself in financial difficulties in August, he approached town and county officials about suspending payments on outstanding loans he had been granted by the two local governments when he expanded the store. That approval was granted unanimously by both boards.
In October, county officials paid $15,000 on a 90-day option on the Southern Lumber property with an eye toward turning it into a school bus garage. Should the county decide to exercise that option, a purchase price will be negotiated.
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