Rooftops and Retail

Upswing in new homes could mean boon to retail

Story  by Carol Pappas

Photos by Susan Wall and Submitted

The saying goes, “Retail follows rooftops.” And if the recent flurry of new housing construction around St. Clair County is any indication, more retail offerings might not be far behind.

Commercial developer Bill Ellison, president and CEO of I-20 Development, knows more than most the importance of residential growth. He has been recruiting commercial business to the Pell City area for more than a decade.

“Retail does follow rooftops, and we just haven’t had enough rooftops to ignite significant growth in the national chain stores and restaurants people would like to see near Interstate 20 and US 231. We have had some successes with Publix, Buffalo Wild Wings and the new Premier Cinertainment movie theater, bowling alley and entertainment complex. But new rooftops coming in gives us an encouraging look at the future.”

St. Clair Economic Development Executive Director Don Smith agreed. “It is important for a community to continue to have a growing population base. Young families are an ideal demographic because they have upward mobility in there new careers, typically shop locally, and are in a high consumption phase of their life.”

He noted that young children require new clothes and supplies on an annual basis. “New residential developments that provide a safe neighborhood with good schools and convenient shopping is ideal in attracting young families.”  

And that bodes well for retailers looking for a place to locate. “New retailers are attracted to communities with a growing population and increasing household income. Many times, it’s not the number of homes that are being built, but the quality of the development that will determine the type of future retailers a community will attract.”    

In Pell City, upper scale, craftsman homes are being built in Hillstone Heights, and Fox Hollow is opening new sectors.

Dave Elmore, president and CEO of Crossings General Contractors, had actually gotten out of the construction business when he was building his own home on Logan Martin Lake. But he “saw an opportunity when not many homes were being built, and Realtors did not have an inventory.” He bought 21 lots in the Hillstone Heights subdivision off US 78 and began building speculative homes. Two have sold already.

“There was an opportunity or a need for more upscale homes,” and he created a gated community there. “They are a little more expensive with more amenities, and the craftsman style trend is what everybody seems to want.”

Plans in Fox Hollow near Interstate 20 and US 231 call for 91 new homes to be built as the final phase of that subdivision. Twenty are already under construction.

According to Brian Muenger, city manager for Pell City, the City issued an average of 30 new home permits a year in the 2012-2016 calendar years. “In 2017 we saw 55 new home permits issued, and in 2018 it surged to 74. With the final phase of Fox Hollow and Hillstone under construction, we should see the trend continue throughout 2019, and hopefully beyond that point.”

He noted that the Horizons lakeside development, which has around 200 remaining lots, was sold last year. “I understand that they plan to begin construction in 2019 or 2020.”

Muenger called the economy in recent years “extremely strong, and the houses that are being built have been moving quickly. The supply of existing lots, specifically in the sub-$250,000 price range, will likely be depleted within two years, and there is a significant need for additional subdivisions to be developed in that price range.”

To encourage additional residential development, the city council enacted a substantial reduction of its impact fees and subdivision fees in 2017, lowering those development costs by more than 40%, he said. “This was done in recognition of the need our area has for additional rooftops, as well as the benefits that additional population has in driving our retail sector.  Current third-party projections indicate that by 2019 there will be more than 44,000 people residing within 10 miles of the city center.”

While not all of that population is inside the city limits, “the entirety of that population is comfortably within our trade area, making the city an attractive market for additional retail development. The city’s existing retailers have seen substantial increases in sales in recent years, which is indicative of the market demand. Statistics show large opportunity gaps in our existing retail landscape, including a gap of over $50 million in the food service and beverage space.”

To the west, Moody is experiencing a sizable surge in new home construction. Mayor Bill Lee said his city is seeing a building boom in the new housing market with an estimated 500 new homes to be built in four new subdivisions. Also under construction is a senior living complex with 26 duplexes being built.

“The housing market does push commercial growth,” Lee said. Moody has made sure it has a good mix of residential options over the years. What is being built now are larger homes, enabling those in starter homes to move up and stay in Moody. With the city’s proximity to the Interstate 20 corridor and the growth it is experiencing in the residential market, “retail is right behind it.”

Longtime Realtor and owner of Lovejoy Realty, Lyman Lovejoy, is seeing plenty of movement in the northern half of the county as well. In Moody’s Edgewater subdivision, “we are selling out fast.” There are several custom homes under construction at the present time.

There are several new homes going up in The Village at Springville, which has 20 lots left. “Spec houses are selling fast across the county, Lovejoy said. Magnolia Lake in Margaret is seeing its share of growth with several homes under construction, and the city of Margaret’s total of construction is more than 40 homes being built right now.

Lovejoy’s Canoe Harbor development on Neely Henry Lake, a joint venture with Freeman Land Co., has enjoyed much success since it opened for development a year ago.

There are 26 lots on the water and 10 off the water. More than half the lots have been sold in the lakeside development that sits between Ashville and Rainbow City. He credits the positive housing market plus no water level fluctuation at Neely Henry with the success in such a short time.

Lovejoy Realty Broker Brian Camp, who owns Waterstone Homes, built 20-25 homes in 2018 in Moody, Odenville, Margaret and Springville areas.

And just as the saying goes, Lovejoy concluded, “If we have enough rooftops, retail will come.”

Pell City Past and Present

Story by Scottie Vickery

Photos courtesy Pell City Library

Photos by Graham Hadley

Even the walls of the Maxwell Building in downtown Pell City have a story to tell, just like the others lining the blocks of Cogswell Avenue.

The first brick building constructed in town, it still bears the scars of a 1902 dynamite explosion at the nearby train depot. The accident killed two people, injured several others, and left a large crack in the building’s exterior.

The structure was built in 1890, a year before the city was incorporated, and has been home to a boarding house, grocery stores, post office and hotel over its 129-year history. It’s the only survivor of the handful of houses and buildings that made up the original eight square blocks of Pell City. Today, the building that boasts so much historical charm now counts art galleries and a martial arts studio among its many tenants.

“It’s a monument to the humble beginnings of town and stands as a testament to the resilient nature of its people,” Urainah Glidewell said of the Maxwell Building and its many lives. The organizer of the 4th Annual Pell City Historical Walking Tours held each Saturday in April, Glidewell said the building is just one of many that participants can explore. “A lot of people who live in Pell City don’t know much about its history, and there are so many wonderful stories. This is a way for us to open the doors for the community and kind of invite them in,” she said.

Glidewell, who has called Pell City home for 13 years, researched the origins of the city, its founders and businesses for the tours, which average about 150 participants each year. Led by community volunteers, they are a project of The Heart of Pell City, a group dedicated to the preservation, revitalization and cultural development of the downtown historical district. More than 30 cities and towns across the state, including Springville, are hosting tours this year as part of the Alabama Department of Tourism’s initiative to highlight the rich history of the state.

“Everyone who calls Pell City home, who has a business here, they’re now part of the history of Pell City,” said Glidewell, who serves as president of The Heart of Pell City. “We’re walking in the footsteps of all the people who came before us. We thought the tours would be a wonderful way to educate people.”

In its infancy

Downtown Pell City, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, has a long, storied history. Founded by railroad investors, a town charter was issued in 1887, and the city was officially incorporated in May 1891. It was named for one of the financial backers, George Hamilton Pell of New York.

Pell City was nearly abandoned following the Panic of 1893, but it was redeveloped after Sumter Cogswell and his wife, Lydia DeGaris Cogswell, moved to town in 1901 and bought the city for the bargain price of $3,000. “Mr. Cogswell influenced the location here in 1902 of the Pell City Manufacturing Company, subsequently Avondale Mills,” according to the historical marker in front of the courthouse. “The town’s prosperity was secured after that time.”

Much of Pell City’s growth over the years can be attributed to the construction of I-20 and Logan Martin Lake, both built during the 1960s. It’s the historical district, however, that gave the largest city in St. Clair County its start. The district includes two blocks of Cogswell Avenue, as well as several buildings on 19th Street North, 21st Street North and 20th Street South.

Here’s a look at some of the buildings and their stories, according to Glidewell’s research:

Pell City Drug Company/Rexall Drugs, 1901 Cogswell Avenue, was built in 1903 by Dr. R.A. Martin. When Comer Hospital closed in 1931, he opened a six-bed clinic above the drugstore and started construction on the 42-bed Martin Hospital, which was directly behind the store and now houses law offices. The drug store, which closed its doors in 2001, sold everything from prescriptions to school books during its nearly 100-year history and featured a soda fountain and lunch counter, according to Carolyn Hall, Martin’s granddaughter. Today, visitors can still enjoy a meal at El Cazador Mexican Grill, which opened there several years ago.

Singleton’s Barber Shop, which opened in 1905 at 1911 Cogswell Avenue, is now home to Partners by Design, a multimedia marketing company that publishes Discover, The Essence of St. Clair, as well as other magazines. They don’t offer haircuts, but today’s visitors who are having a bad hair day can also buy baseball caps and visors there, as well as T-shirts, sweatshirts and other products promoting Logan Martin Lake. Partners by Design sells its brand of LakeLife™ products at its downtown office. The brand’s origin comes from a logo the company designed years ago and trademarked.

The Maxwell Building, which once housed a herd of goats, was originally built by John Maxwell, who was trained in the leather trade. The original plans called for the building to be used as a tannery, but records are unclear as to whether or not that actually happened. The building currently houses a number of businesses, including Merle Norman Cosmetics Studio, Artscape Gallery, Mission Submissions Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Dirk A. Walker Fine Art Gallery, Mila Le Beauty Bar and Lilly Designs.

The Willingham Building, built in 1920 at 1922 Cogswell Avenue, was originally home to a furniture store and grocery in the front part of the building and a funeral parlor in the back. Joe Kilgroe later acquired the funeral service, which is now known as Kilgroe Funeral Home and has locations in Pell City and Leeds. The building later housed Hagan Drugs and is now home to Judy’s PC Tees, which makes custom Tshirts.

Pell City Hardware Company was built in 1904 at 1910 Cogswell Avenue and sold everything from tools to guns, cutlery, and dishes. One of the original partners was Hardy Cornett, who at one point opened a hotel in the Maxwell Building. Pell City Hardware was sold in the 1980s and became Gossett Hardware Company. Today, the building is home to three businesses: Express Shipping, Toast Sandwich Eatery, and The Old Gray Barn, an antiques and collectibles store with finds that include cutlery and dishes of days gone by.

“I love history,” said Glidewell, who dresses in period costumes for the tours she leads. “I didn’t grow up in Pell City or have family roots here, but this is my home now. I’ve loved looking back at all the people who helped build Pell City. Being able to preserve that and share it in this way has been very rewarding.”

Ed Gardner Sr.

Handed over the blueprints for success

Story by Paul South
Submitted Photos

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
— Proverbs 29:18

For most, visions of economic development mean shiny, sleek sedans slowly rolling off assembly lines.

But Ed Gardner Sr. envisioned St. Clair County’s economic boom not just in big manufacturing, but in cozy convenience stores, fueled by gasoline, soda and snacks.

Local entrepreneur Bill Ellison remembers Gardner’s first retail project, a convenience store on the I-20 corridor. The area would later grow to include a Wal-Mart Superstore and a wealth of other retailers, restaurants and motels.

Ellison recalls a ceremony announcing the project, the biggest he’d undertaken.

“Ed Gardner got up there and basically, he said, this project was going to change the whole way of life as Pell City knows it. It was going to be so important to the community, it was going to be about a way of life. It was going to be about better city services. It was going to be about public parks. It was going to be about all the things they could do with that money (tax revenue) that would start coming in off of that development. They would have extra money to do things to make this a better community, and it actually turned out that way.”

Indeed, it did. And the seed planted by that small retailer, and the recruitment of big manufacturers across the county, would lead to public parks, better public access to Logan Martin Lake and the Coosa River, the CEPA Center, more money for education and emergency services. Higher wages and better benefits for the county’s people in turn boosted the real estate market.

Gardner, now 82, the recipient of the 2018 Chairman’s Award from the St. Clair County Economic Development Council, is quick to downplay his role. While he was honored by the award, he says it was undeserved.

The award is given annually to a person who has gone above and beyond in their support of economic development in St. Clair County. “These are private citizens – not public officials – who are out there trying to make this county better,” said current St. Clair County Economic Development Council Executive Director Don Smith.

“I’ve always looked at that as, I was paid for everything I did. Like when I was nominated Citizen of the Year, I didn’t think it was fair. The things that I have accomplished are what I’m supposed to be doing. That’s my job, it’s what I’m supposed to be doing. I get up every morning, every day with that in mind, that this is what I’m supposed to accomplish. Awards like that are for people who give of their time, not people who are paid for their time.”

He adds, “It’s a great award, and I’m extremely proud to receive it. And it certainly makes me feel good that the people that I’ve known for the 19 years that I’ve been here, feel toward me that they would want to acknowledge what I have done with a ceremony and a way to commemorate it. It’s a tremendous honor and one that I really don’t feel that I necessarily deserve.”

His resume’ and those who have known Gardner through the years would quickly disagree.

Consider just a few of his accomplishments: Director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs in the second administration of then-Gov. Fob James, Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the late Jack Kemp. He also served in regional leadership roles for HUD in Birmingham, Atlanta, Florida and Oklahoma City.

He played a key role in Alabama’s burgeoning automobile industry, helping continue the Mercedes Benz project in Tuscaloosa County, and later Honda in Lincoln and the industries that would spin off the auto industry, benefitting all of St.  Clair County. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Those who have come to know Gardner over his 19 years in St. Clair County are quick to disagree with his claim that the Chairman’s Award is undeserved. They contend he is the foundation for economic prosperity that St. Clair County has enjoyed in recent years. Its ranking as one of the fastest-growing counties in the state was built in large part, they say, through Gardner’s efforts.

And it came because he brought unity to the county’s drive for prosperity.  Former Pell City Mayor Guin Robinson said in the late 1990s, local leaders committed to work together, ignoring political turf wars that can kill the best-intentioned ideas in small towns and rural counties. St. Clair has had its share, thanks in part to its geography. Not this time.

 “Sometimes the stars align. We had progressive leaders, and we were all committed to do whatever it took to bring the county together around economic development.”

And the biggest piece of the puzzle, many say, was attracting Ed Gardner to St. Clair County.

“The Ed Gardner hire was the biggest the county ever made,” Ellison said. “Forming the EDC and hiring him, I can’t think of anything that’s been more important for this county. Ed always had the right words at the right time. He was an artist with words. He would pick the absolute right word. It was a work of art when Ed spoke.”

Longtime Gardner friend and colleague, local real estate executive Lyman Lovejoy, agrees. Lovejoy still pinches himself when he thinks of how the county landed Gardner for its point person on the economy. He knew how to build confidence and how to bring people together. Lovejoy was on the EDC board for 15 years and was part of the team that interviewed Gardner for the its executive director role.

“He’s got a pedigree that’s unreal. When he was in the interview, he got a phone call and said he had to take it, that it was from then-U.S. Rep. Richard Shelby. I thought it was staged. But it was Richard Shelby. That’s the kind of people he knew.”

The man that holds the job now, EDC Executive Director Don Smith, said that Gardner’s experience at the state and federal level paid dividends.

“It was critical in his ability to come here and have the patience and the temperament to bring everyone together, even if they didn’t want to,” Smith said.

Lovejoy, a past recipient of the Chairman’s Award, added, “He is the one that put us on the road to economic development here in the county. He brought our county together, the towns together, all working the same way for the same purpose.”

Gardner’s philosophy was as simple as the old adage of the rising tide that lifts all boats. A recent informal survey of the county’s major employers revealed that the workforce at each firm came from across the county.

“When you’re talking about jobs, it’s not zip code specific or city specific,” Smith said. “When a company’s expanding with 200 jobs, that’s good for all areas of St. Clair County.”

“He preached a sermon: “Just because they put something in Steele or Pell City, it benefits everybody (countywide),” Lovejoy said. “All the jobs don’t come from Steele or Ashville or wherever. His people skills were unsurpassed.”

And under Gardner’s leadership, St. Clair’s economic development blueprint became a model for other cities and counties.

“Ed validated economic development in St. Clair County,” Lovejoy says. “Other counties would call us and say, ‘How are y’all doing this? Show us what you’re doing.’ That’s going on today.”

Would economic development have transformed St. Clair into one of the state’s fastest growing counties without Gardner?

“It certainly wouldn’t have been as big,” Lovejoy says.

Gardner shies away from an individual spotlight. He will quickly tell you that economic development rests on a two-tiered foundation – teamwork and integrity, doing what you say you’ll do, without excuses.

He will quickly share credit with public and private sector leaders he’s worked with, as well as with his wife of 60 years, Betty, and his children.

And then there is his faith. In their retirement years, the Gardners travel to cities large and small, following their favorite Southern Gospel groups. Whether in Louisville, Ky., or Shipshewana, Ind., or towns near and far, he prefers performers who sing together for the glory of God, not singers who try to bring attention to themselves onstage.

“I’ve always liked gospel music, but I have never liked the demeanor of the most popular groups when they were performing on stage. To me, it ought to be a worship experience.”

Economic development is the same way, he says – perfect shared harmony. And every shared success is granted by the Almighty.

His career of success has also endured pain.

Gardner led the Oklahoma City field office of HUD. Days after he left that role in 1995 to return to Alabama, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed in a horrific act of domestic terrorism. Some 168 people died, including 35 of Gardner’s HUD colleagues. Nineteen children being cared for at the America’s Kids Day Care Center in the building, were among the dead. He tries to block out the memory, but it never fades.

Asked how he was impacted by the bombing, Gardner took a long pause. His voice broke and tears came. Those that were lost, he said, “were some of the best people I ever knew. I try to let people know how I feel about them rather than waiting until tomorrow or next week or next month, because . . . because I know that I may not have another opportunity.”

With the Chairman’s Award, Gardner’s adopted home expressed its feelings for him. And while grateful, Gardner’s humility never ceased.

“The thing that I would want people to know is that I never promised anything that I didn’t think I could deliver. And I never committed to anything that I didn’t do my best to complete in an exemplary way.”

He adds: “There’s nothing that I can look back on that can make me look back and say I wish I’d taken this path rather than that path. I tell you, the Lord has been so good to me in giving me a great family that has supported me in times I wasn’t able to be there physically to support them. They never wavered. Therefore, I know I’ve done what I should have done. I am without any doubt, one of the most blessed people that has ever lived.”

And his greatest reward comes not through gleaming plaques or grand ribbon cuttings, but in something more tangible.

“What’s gratifying to me is that when I walk through one of these plants, whether its Honda or  Eismann (Automotive, North America)  here in Pell City or WKW, and I’m walking through there and I see a man or woman there that I had  seen in the past (making minimum wage) and (now) seeing them making a good hourly wage plus benefits, that’s what does more for me than anything else – knowing that their standard of living has really improved.”

Guin Robinson characterized Gardner’s legacy.

“You can have all the necessary things for success,” he said. “But it takes a leader. And it takes someone who can put all the ingredients together. You can call him an architect. You can call him a builder, but Ed put it together. … We all knew we had those things, but we needed someone to put it together. I’m forever thankful and forever grateful that that person was Ed Gardner.”

Cinertainment comes to Pell City

Story by Linda Long
Photos by Graham Hadley
and Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Heads up, Pell City and environs, Cinertainment has come to town, and there’s nothing else like it anywhere around. When people talk about the ‘wow factor,’ this place defines it.

Take it from Mark Vaughan, facility director of the 47,892-square-foot facility, which houses seven theatres with reclining seats, 12 bowling lanes, a café and bar, and an arcade complete with zip-line – all under one huge roof.

The name is a derivative of the words, cinema and entertainment, but that barely begins to describe the multiplex, multifaceted attraction. 

As Vaughan explained, the innovative concept is geared toward serving as a destination point, drawing patrons from Lincoln, Leeds, Anniston, Oxford and Talladega.

“Of course, we would love to draw from the Birmingham area as well, but those cities are where we expect to get our customers,” said Vaughn.

Ten years in the planning and construction phase, Cinertainment opened its doors in January to record crowds. As Vaughan points out, the facility was a long time coming but well worth the wait.

“We offer something for just about everybody,” he said.

Mayor Bill Pruitt, who cut the ribbon on opening night and took his turn on the zip line, echoed the sentiment, crediting multiple city administrations; St. Clair Economic Development Council; developer Bill Ellison, president of I-20 Development; and St. Clair County Commission. 

“This very well could be the single most important date in Pell City history,” Pruitt said, making a joke about Facebook and the years of discussions and comments from an impatient community. “This is the fourth administration to have this dream, he said, singling out former Mayors Adam Stocks, Bill Hereford and Joe Funderburg. “Joe worked diligently,” he said. Ground was broken on the complex just past the end of Funderburg’s term and the beginning of Pruitt’s.

“I deserve no credit for this,” Pruitt continued. “I am just honored to be a part of this and to be able to stand here tonight. After walking around inside and seeing this place, it was well worth the wait.”

The mayor also talked of Ellison’s role. He said Premier Cinema CEO Gary Moore told him how excited he was to finally meet Ellison a couple of years back. He remembered Moore telling him, “ ‘ Who in the heck is this Bill Ellison who keeps calling me about bringing this movie theater to Pell City?’ ”

Ellison, long known for his persistence in recruiting business to Pell City, recalled, “I stayed on him. I kept calling him and telling him about Pell City. We started building a relationship, and it progressed to the point that we could put the right people together to make it happen.”

Ellison noted that it indeed was a team effort of the city and county, noting that St. Clair EDC Executive Director Don Smith played a major role in “putting the package together.”

Moore agreed, saying Smith and City Manager Brian Muenger’s support for the project ensured its success. “Without their support and enthusiasm, this project would never have happened.” He added thanks to Funderburg as well.

So now the dream is finally reality. “It’s not only a great thing for Pell City,” said St. Clair Commissioner Tommy Bowers, “it’s a great thing for St. Clair County.”

Moore took it a step further. “This is a destination attraction. It will draw from counties from miles around. It is a lifestyle enhancement, we think, of great proportions.”

He’s right. From 12 state-of-the-art bowling lanes to seven “luxury experience” movie theaters, an indoor zip line and obstacle course, Cinertainment’s management take their night-out-on-the-town experience to a whole new level.

“We’re offering what we call the ultimate luxury in movie going,” said Vaughan.  “All the seats are reclining. The recliners are electrically powered in all auditoriums, complete with USB ports and swivel tables for dining. Movie goers may order their food. We’ll give you a buzzer. When your food is ready, we’ll buzz you and you go right to your theater door to get your meal.”

As Vaughan explained, “this way you can have your popcorn and Coke or a full meal right there at your own table.”

The expanded food and beverage options are expected to be a huge draw, with a full-service kitchen, a pub and full bar, offering four top drafts, four light beers and four craft beers from local breweries.

Food choices include pizza, hamburgers, grilled chicken, wings, onion rings, fried green tomatoes, chef salad and fried pickles.

For those who might want to work off some of those calories, Cinertainment offers a zip line and an obstacle course. And, of course let’s not forget the arcade.  “Our game room has about 46 different games. “You can redeem points here, then take them to the redemption center to see what you can buy,” said Vaughan. “We’ve got winnings ranging from trinkets to an Xbox.”

The facility also offers space for private events such as birthday parties and business meetings.

“We’ve even gotten a couple of churches interested in holding Sunday services here. Like I said, something for everybody,” said Vaughan. l

 

Cinertainment is located at 2200 Vaughan Lane in Pell City.
– Carol Pappas contributed to this story.

 

Eissmann Automotive

Countinues investment in St. Clair

Photos by Graham Hadley

Eissmann Automotive’s new expansion makes the German manufacturing giant the largest single employer in Pell City.

The auto-industry supplier, which opened its first American operation here in 2005, specializes in interior fittings and parts for high-end automobiles, including Mercedes, Audi, Bugatti, Bentley, the Corvette Stingray, Tesla, Lamborghini and others.

Eissmann’s latest expansion means a $14.5-million capital investment in its facility in the Pell City Industrial Park and will bring 200 new jobs to the region.

The company held an official opening of the new section and ribbon-cutting Oct. 15.

During the ceremony, Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt presented the key to the city to Claudia Eissmann, chairwoman of the Eissmann Automotive Advisory Council, before a large crowd of Eissmann employees, company representatives and local and state officials. Afterward, the new expansion was open for tours by the attendees.

“With this expansion, Eissmann has become the largest employer in Pell City, and we are excited to see them continue to grow in our community. We are very fortunate that they chose our community as their North American headquarters, and we hope they will continue to expand here,” Pruitt said.

“We are always excited to see our existing industries continue to expand in St. Clair County. The addition of jobs to St. Clair County allows our citizens to work closer to home and improves their quality of life,” said St. Clair Commission Chairman Paul Manning. “Eissmann is a tremendous community partner, and we look forward to growing with them in the future.”

The company already employs almost 400 workers at the Pell City facility and expects that number to reach upwards of 580 with the new expansion.

This adds to the growing number of foreign companies, like Eissmann and Honda, employing thousands of people in St. Clair and surrounding counties.

Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield noted that, two decades ago, not a single major automobile manufacturer was operating in Alabama. Now the state ranks fourth in automobile manufacturing in the nation.

“Today is indeed a celebration of the present and of the future to come,” he said.

The company’s connection to the Mercedes Benz plant in Tuscaloosa County just off Interstate 20 was the driving force behind the expansion.

“Eissmann has been in Pell City longer than I have,” said St. Clair Economic Development Council Director Don Smith.

“Eissmann is a solid, family-owned company that has outperformed even our greatest expectation in Pell City. They pride themselves on the highest quality craftsmanship in the industry, which is a perfect fit for the high-end automotive customers they serve,” he said.

“They have incredible leadership in management in their Pell City facility and we look forward to working with them on future expansions.”

Eissmann agreed. “From the first investment Eissmann Automotive made in Pell City, the community and elected officials have made us feel welcomed and supported. Our facility has grown within the community, and we look forward to continuing to work with the City of Pell City, the St. Clair County Commission and the Economic Development Council for Many years to come,” she said.

Ron Partain’s World of Music

Distilling a love and life of music into one store

Story and Photos by Graham Hadley

Window shopping on Cogswell Avenue in Pell City’s historic downtown, anyone with any interest in music will be drawn to Ron Partain’s store.

Following the sound of classic rock from the past four decades piped through speakers in the front of Ron Partain’s World of Music, visitors can look in and see guitars — electric and acoustic, mandolins, keyboards and electric pianos, banjos, amplifiers, drum sets, even a colorful row of ukuleles.

Plus everything else under the sun necessary for people to make music: effects pedals, sound mixing equipment, pics, microphones, speakers, strings, instrument straps and much more. Every inch of Ron Partain’s World of Music is a testament to his love of music.

And that is exactly the way he wants it — for Ron Partain, since his mid teenage years, his life has centered on music — and it’s a love that he wants to share with the world. So he, with the help of long-time employee Karen Poe, distill that love into the store that has been open on Cogswell for 41 years now.

The original store was located just down the street from its current location at 1914 Cogswell. Partain, who has spent his life as a music director for various church choirs in St. Clair and Talladega counties, knew he wanted and needed to do more with his life, and a music store seemed the perfect fit. “I loved the choir work, but I had two daughters to get through college. I had to do something — and here we are,” he said.

“I had no real money in 1977 when I decided to do this. I had maybe $1,000 and had to borrow three to four thousand more.”

Everything came together, and Ron Partain’s World of Music opened its doors for the first time across the street from the St. Clair County Courthouse in 1978. The original shop was much smaller than the current one — “a hole in the wall” he called it — and that was a particular issue because, back then, they sold full-size pianos and organs.

But it did the trick, cementing World of Music as a downtown staple for almost half a century.

It was also the beginning of a business relationship and friendship that has lasted almost as long as the business has been around. There were more than one business located in the building Partain bought all those years ago, and one of them was a Sneaky Pete’s restaurant. The owners were looking to sell their business, and Partain took the opportunity to expand his income. Within a few years, someone presented him with an offer to purchase the restaurant that was too good to refuse.

Karen, who was 19 at the time, was the cashier at the restaurant. “I figured I was out of a job,” she said.

Not so. “I handed her the keys to the music store and said, ‘You run the business for a while. I am going to play golf.’” And he did exactly that. Partain confessed he needed some relaxation time. Between his duties as a music director, running the music store and managing a restaurant, he admittedly needed to catch his breath.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” Karen joked. “I spent the first few weeks just stacking and sorting papers so I would look busy.” But she quickly grew into the job of managing the day-to-day operation of World of Music and is still doing so now, 38 years later, something Partain is quick to point out has been a key to the business’ long-term success.

That success should not surprise anyone who knows Partain. At 15, he, like most boys his age, was very focused on sports. Nothing could be further from his mind than music. All that changed when a gentleman named R.U. Green came into the locker room after football practice and announced he was looking for some young men to participate in a concert choir.

Hesitant at first, Partain and a few of the other players realized a choir might be a great place to meet some young ladies. So he joined up, and his life’s path was set.

“I had never sung before. By the third or fourth week, I was head of the vocal choir. Music set my heart on fire. I was still 15 when I took my first paying job directing a church choir,” he said, “and I have been doing it ever since. Music just speaks to me.”

And he did get to meet a girl — his wife, in one of the choirs he participated in.

Partain has made a name for himself over the years as a music director, taking choirs, usually groups of high-school students and young college-age adults, all around the globe to perform. They have sung the national anthem at the opening of sporting events in some of the most famous stadiums, like Wrigley Field and the Astro Dome, in the country.

And playing those sports venues has had the added bonus of feeding one of Partain’s other loves — sports. “I got to see Cal Ripken play,” he said.

They also have performed at national monuments, the United Nations, places like the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and been as far away as Hawaii, more than once.

Partain said one of the biggest challenges, other than getting ready to perform before huge crowds, is keeping track of all of the teens and young adults in his group, so they have shirts printed up before each trip that everyone has to wear.

One of Partain’s prized possessions is a quilt made up of the different shirt designs they have used over the years.

“I have gotten to see and do things in my life that I would not have been able to do without music,” he said, adding that one of his proudest achievements is that he got to “sing with my daughters.”

It’s the life that his love of music has given him Partain wants to share with others through his store, which has been in its current location since 1986.

He readily admits, as does Karen, that they can’t play their instruments very well, but that is not the point. “I have a love of music, but I’m not a great musician myself. I love helping other people learn to love music.

“I wanted to give musicians a place in this area to shop,” he said. “I really get my personal fulfilment from watching people, adults and kids, come out here to make music.”

So he took a building and filled it with everything local musicians need. His personal favorites are acoustic guitars — Alvarez in particular. And though he keeps a broad inventory in his store, Partain realizes that to compete with big retailers and the Internet, he needs to have more than what he can fit in one building. He does that by keeping up a network with instrument distributors all over the country and beyond and can order pretty much anything his customers need or want.

But to keep a music store open in a small town, even in an area growing as fast as Pell City, means you have to have something for everyone, and do more than just sell instruments and sound equipment.

Partain says he is probably one of the oldest locally owned retail businesses in the area, and the key has been diversity. They repair instruments, help set up sound systems, even move pianos — if a customer needs an item or needs something done, they find a way to make it happen.

He estimates as many as 75 people a week have taken music lessons at World of Music — from guitar to horns, they can teach it all. They even work with local school bands to keep their instruments in top shape.

As he credits Karen with the success of running the business, Partain says Steven Begley is not only a fantastic music instructor, he can repair almost any instrument.

“We had a guy come in here with his father’s guitar that had gotten water on it. It was all bowed out and warped on the sides, all over.

“Steven took that guitar and worked on it. When the guy came back to pick it up and saw Steven coming out with the completely repaired guitar from the back of the shop, he stopped right here and started crying. He had thought the guitar his father had left him was ruined. Steven made it look like it had never been damaged.”

It is those types of experiences that bring it all home for Partain. “I love sharing music with people. I love everything about this business, talking to people as they come in, the purchasing, the selling — everything.”

And he will share that love with his customers even if you are not looking to buy that day, with people coming by the store just to talk, visit or listen to music.

The doors of Ron Partain’s World of Music are open to musicians and music lovers alike.