RSS Feed
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Stewart Buick relinquishing its franchise after 59 years
Kenneth Stewart said, "It was time," noting he and his brother, Bob, aren't getting any younger. However, the Stewart brothers aren't retiring just yet. They will continue to offer non-warranty service work for their longtime customers and to sell late model used vehicles as they have for years alongside new Buicks. The termination of the franchise leaves Clarke County without a Buick dealer. Clarke County native Hopson Stewart had been in the car business for some time before he became a Buick dealer in September or October of 1948, explained his son Kenneth. "He and his first cousin, Joe Hawkins, were in business together in Grove Hill as the Chrysler-Plymouth dealers. Daddy sold out to Joe and later he was reading a magazine and saw a Buick ad. He wrote the company and asked if they'd be interested in having a Buick dealer in Jackson."
"The first car he sold was a 1948 Roadmaster to Frank Coxwell, a local barber," Kenneth said. The price? "Probably around $3,200 or $3,300," Kenneth estimated, adding, "I still have that first invoice around here somewhere." J.F. McVay built the showroom on College Avenue that is still home to the business today. At the time it was considered to be on the north side of town. Today, the city has grown well past the location. In the early years, Howard Porter and Joe Henley sold Buicks at the dealership. Earl DuBose was the bookkeeper for nine years. Buick was a popular car in the early 1950s. The old Roadmasters and "Super" Buicks sported big straight eight engines with Dynaflow automatic transmissions. The changes over the years have been dramatic: Power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, V8 engines and front wheel drives. Hopson Stewart's four sons were all involved in the business at some time or other and three of them continued in it after Hopson died in 1995. Kenneth, the oldest son, joined the family dealership in 1956 after graduating from the University of Alabama. Bob Stewart said, "I started going with my daddy to buy cars when I was 13 years old." Bill Stewart was a vital part of the business until his death in 1998. Mac Stewart worked in the business some, too, but has been in education most of his adult working life. There have been various mechanics in and out of the shop over the years. A fixture has been L.C. Kimbell who has worked there for years. Stewart Buick has had a loyal and longtime customer base and prided itself on personal service. One Jackson resident, James H. "Jimmy" Bumpers, has been a Stewart Buick customer consistently since buying his first Buick in 1953. "You can't find customers and friends better than that," Kenneth said. Often, Hopson Stewart or one of his sons would drive a new car out to a farmer's or teacher's home or a local business owner's store. After some visiting and some negotiating, the Stewart who made the visit would often drive off in the customer's old vehicle, leaving the new car in the driveway. Local Jackson customers whose cars needed servicing only had to call the dealership. "We'd tell them to leave the keys in the car and L. C. would pick it up, do what needed to be done and return it when it was finished," Kenneth explained. Hopson Stewart was quite a salesman and a showman in his earlier days and had a lot of fun with his customers. "Daddy had some fine new straw hats one time and Jim Allen- we called him 'Uncle Jim' - came in wearing an awful old hat. Daddy grabbed it off his head, threw it on the floor and stomped it to pieces. Then he handed Uncle Jim a new straw hat. Uncle Jim soon bought a car from daddy and a while later someone remarked about his fine straw hat. Uncle Jim said, 'It ought to be, it cost $1,000.' " Longtime Jackson High School Principal Joe M. Gillmore ribbed Hopson as much as Hopson ribbed others. "A Buick burns more gas, rides better than anything else but won't bring anything when you get rid of it," Kenneth Stewart said Gillmore told Hopson.
Bob Stewart said, "We have appreciated the support of so many people over the years and we thank them for their Buick business. We will still be here for a while, just not as a Buick dealer."
|
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
)
