Mr. Fred Wiley
This is Mr. Fred Wiley, the son of one of the original founders of Claude T. Wiley Co. General Store in Social Circle, Georgia. The photo was taken in 2013, and the store is now closed.
In 2007, the Savannah Morning News published the following story:
"It doesn't take many miles outside of Atlanta to go way, way back in time. In the one-stoplight town of Social Circle sits the 87-year-old, family-owned Claude T. Wiley Co., a quintessential Southern small-town general store. But in the modern era, the store - run by the founder's three aging children - is struggling."
"'How's business? Bad,' owner Fred Wiley, 82, said on recent morning. 'Had the worst first day of the month we've ever had.'"
"Once upon a time, the first day of the month brought in eager shoppers with their paychecks and Social Security and pension money. Not any more, as downtown general stores and even department stores keep losing customers and disappearing. On this particular day, the store sold less than $20 worth of goods, not enough for Wiley to bother scribbling down the profits. Wiley is hoping he and his sisters - Elizabeth, 87, and Dorothy, 77 - can keep the doors open through the end of the year. None of them are struggling financially, but they'd like to keep their father's store open a little while longer, for old time's sake."
"Elizabeth Wiley said the store 'was dedicated to the Lord. When he sees fit for us to close, we'll close.' 'Yes, it would make us sad if we had to close,' she said. 'But we've been blessed to come this far. It's a miracle we've made 87.'"
"Their father, Claude Wiley, opened the store in 1920 with his brother, Berry. It was called Wiley Brothers, but Claude changed the name after Berry died in 1928. From the looks of the store, not much has changed since then: Worn, wood-paneled floor. Wooden counters. Fully stocked floor-to-ceiling shelves with a ladder on rollers. The cash register is from 1922. The cheese cutter is almost 90 years old and still in use. An ancient safe holds dozens of unpaid tabs from years past, when regular customers could run a tab they settled on payday."
"In November 2005, the store was celebrated by the Social Circle Theater with 'A Nickel's Worth of Sugar' based on tales from the town's past. The store also made it into an episode of 'In the Heat of the Night,' which was filmed in this area of Georgia, and into the movie 'The Fighting Temptations.'"
Mr. Fred Wiley
This is Mr. Fred Wiley, the son of one of the original founders of Claude T. Wiley Co. General Store in Social Circle, Georgia. The photo was taken in 2013, and the store is now closed.
In 2007, the Savannah Morning News published the following story:
"It doesn't take many miles outside of Atlanta to go way, way back in time. In the one-stoplight town of Social Circle sits the 87-year-old, family-owned Claude T. Wiley Co., a quintessential Southern small-town general store. But in the modern era, the store - run by the founder's three aging children - is struggling."
"'How's business? Bad,' owner Fred Wiley, 82, said on recent morning. 'Had the worst first day of the month we've ever had.'"
"Once upon a time, the first day of the month brought in eager shoppers with their paychecks and Social Security and pension money. Not any more, as downtown general stores and even department stores keep losing customers and disappearing. On this particular day, the store sold less than $20 worth of goods, not enough for Wiley to bother scribbling down the profits. Wiley is hoping he and his sisters - Elizabeth, 87, and Dorothy, 77 - can keep the doors open through the end of the year. None of them are struggling financially, but they'd like to keep their father's store open a little while longer, for old time's sake."
"Elizabeth Wiley said the store 'was dedicated to the Lord. When he sees fit for us to close, we'll close.' 'Yes, it would make us sad if we had to close,' she said. 'But we've been blessed to come this far. It's a miracle we've made 87.'"
"Their father, Claude Wiley, opened the store in 1920 with his brother, Berry. It was called Wiley Brothers, but Claude changed the name after Berry died in 1928. From the looks of the store, not much has changed since then: Worn, wood-paneled floor. Wooden counters. Fully stocked floor-to-ceiling shelves with a ladder on rollers. The cash register is from 1922. The cheese cutter is almost 90 years old and still in use. An ancient safe holds dozens of unpaid tabs from years past, when regular customers could run a tab they settled on payday."
"In November 2005, the store was celebrated by the Social Circle Theater with 'A Nickel's Worth of Sugar' based on tales from the town's past. The store also made it into an episode of 'In the Heat of the Night,' which was filmed in this area of Georgia, and into the movie 'The Fighting Temptations.'"