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Weekly 150: James and Ivy Nell Williams

Ben Franklin Five-and-Dime

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It’s always a learning experience and sometimes an amusing trip down memory lane for me as I thumb through the Banner archives. Researching another project brought the 1983 volume to my attention along with a story about James and Ivy Williams. After reading a few paragraphs, I learned how they owned the old Ben Franklin store, which was a much historic institution on its own. So this week’s article is about the Williams and the Ben Franklin Five-and-Dime.
The story of James and Ivy Williams starts in Huntingdon at H.L. Carter and Son’s five-and-dime store (H.L. Carter is the father of actress Dixie Carter). Ivy Nell Crawford was returning a pair of her mother’s long underwear, when a young and shy clerk, James Williams, overcame his shyness and asked the young lady on a date. The couple “courted” for a while and later married.
As the eldest of six children of Oliver and Anne Williams, Jame grew up in the Big Buck community and knew about hard work. With limited funds, the children had to entertain themselves without much. This sometimes involved the older children telling the younger children ghost stories. One story was about a sewing machine salesman who had died in the area and could be seen at night sewing on a sewing machine in the graveyard. Believing the story, James raced past the cemetery at night trying to avoid the dead salesman.
James’s father owned a store in Big Buck and James’ job was to go to McKenzie by horse and wagon to get supplies. The round trip took all day and it would be late in the evening when he returned home. He recalled the eerie feeling while he was crossing the bottoms and the hooting owls, “many times my father would come to meet me, and I’d be so relieved when I heard his voice.”
At 16, he went to work in Jackson, Tennessee, where he worked for the Hall Grocery and boarded with an uncle. He later moved to Martin and landed the job with H.L. Carter and Son in Huntingdon, where he later met Ivy Nell.
Ivy Nell Crawford was from Huntingdon. She had attended Bethel College and taught school for eight years in the Hico and Fields community schools. She called working with 35 to 40 students in one room. There were “no frills, no facilities, no extra books, and the students came to school barefoot in the summertime.” This was the time where school let out for six weeks when cotton and other crops were ready for harvest.
They were married in 1936 when the country was still in the throes of The Great Depression. The bride wore a navy dress (not new) and the groom in a new suit that cost $12.50. After the ceremony, they headed for their honeymoon in Chattanooga with $25 in their pockets.
A few months before their marriage, James moved to McKenzie to manage H.L. Carter’s store. The Williams moved in the living quarters above the store. There was no air conditioning and it was hot with only a small fan to keep the air moving. There was no running water for a toilet and a faucet like an outdoor hydrant with a pan under it (no sink). Water was heated on either an oil stove or a laundry stove. There was no refrigerator and the groceries had to be bought at Chandler’s Grocery just before meals, with the leftovers being thrown out. James occasionally splurged and took Ivy Nell out for a meal at the cafe for 25 cents each.

Ivy Nell went to work for the McKenzie Banking Company in 1943, with time out to have their sons, Jim and Joe. She continued to work for the bank until her retirement.
The Williams bought a new Chevrolet for $850. A family friend had advised them to have $1000 cash on hand for investments and they decided their only asset was the car.
We wanted very much to have the $1,000, so we simply sold the car and got along without it,” said Mrs. Williams. The lady who bought it lived near the Williams and “I just died when I would see someone else driving the car,” said Ivy Nell.
In 1943, the Williams were glad they had the $1,000 on hand. Ivy Nell was forced to have surgery. The surgeon charge and the cost of a 12-day hospital stay cost the couple half of their savings. With the bill paid in full, H.L. Carter decided to sell his interest in the McKenzie store. James used the remaining $500 to purchase it. Carter helped James by under-writing credit for new merchandise. Thus began McKenzie’s Ben Franklin Five-and-Dime store.
In 1962, James went into the fabric business, selling his interest in the store to Dennis Smith. The Williams’ had fabric stores in Dyersburg, Union City, Paris and McKenzie.
James was a member of the McKenzie Board of Education for twenty-one years, serving as chairman in 1964 and as Director from District VII on the Executive Council of the Tennessee School Boards Association.
In later years, James enjoyed traveling. One of his trips included an adventure with his grandson to Africa. The pair traveled in a pirogue (flat bottom boat) for four days and three nights in the Okawanda Samp. They were able to see African wildlife and mingled with natives in various villages.
In 2003, James died at age 94 in Cleveland, Tennessee. Ivy Nell died in March 2005 at age 89. Both are buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in McKenzie.