Man reminisces on Meadors Dry
Cleaning and Laundry
A change in
the cityscape often prompts reminiscing, and where is the harm
in remembering local personalities, fads, clothing or music from
the past? The May 15 edition of the Citizen announcing the
demolition of the old Meadors Dry Cleaning and Laundry building
sparked some long-time Newton County residents to remember when
the Meadors trucks were a common sight on the streets of
Covington, Oxford and Porterdale.
Covington resident Gene Head once drove a laundry truck for
Meadors, a business that was a fixture in Newton County for more
than 80 years. Routes to pick up clothing for cleaning operated
on Mondays and Tuesdays. Routes to drop off clean, fresh and
pressed items and to collect the money ran on Fridays and
Saturdays. This was the schedule to adhere to because most folks
got paid every Friday. Wednesdays were for extra work — to go
back for a customer missed or to perform other customer
services.
Head believes he may have been the first to take advantage of
the early work release program at school. About 1950, high
school teens, age 14 and older, could be excused from school
around 2 in the afternoon to work at downtown jobs.
“When I began at 14 to ride in the Meadors laundry truck, to
jump out, pick up or drop off dry cleaning and laundry, I rode
with Gene Hunt. He sort of took me under his wing when my older
brother, Franklin, was killed in an auto wreck. Franklin was 21
when he died. Gene (Hunt) had the Meadors truck route in
Monticello,” Head said.
“Folks just left their doors open back then, for the insurance
man, paper boy, laundry man, milk man and so on. Clothes would
be just inside the door or screen — often the money was left
there, too.”
Head worked with Hunt on the Monticello route for a couple of
years. He left the company to work in the Porterdale Mill at 17,
because there was more money to be earned in production. Then,
he joined the Navy at 19.
When he returned from the Navy, Head went to work for Meadors
again, this time driving a truck route in Porterdale. Head felt
very much at home with the folks who lived in Porterdale. He was
born in Porterdale in 1936.
“There wasn’t a hospital at the time,” Head said. “So, I
was born on the kitchen table. Since Porterdale was my home, I
loved the route. I started driving a 1952 Chevrolet paneled
truck, then the route grew to a walk-in truck similar to a UPS
truck, only a little smaller. Then Volkswagen came out with a
paneled truck that was also good on gas. The VW was the last
truck I drove.
“Porterdale was a really nice place to live back then.
Everyone knew everyone. If anyone got sick, it was like
neighbors were family. They helped each other. You could sit on
the porch in the evening and talk across porches.”
Head enjoyed his time working for Meadors.
“The owner (of Meadors’ Dry Cleaning and Laundry), Mr. Frank
Meadors, was a fine man to work for,” Head said. “If I had a
bad week on my route, he would give me a little extra, stating
he didn’t want his help to go lacking. His son, Jack, was a
good employer too.”
Henry Franklin Meadors, whom Head calls “Mr. Frank,” lived
in Newton County all his life from 1893 to 1971. He founded
Meadors’ Dry Cleaners and Laundry and ran it until retirement,
passing the business on to his son, the late Jack Lee Meadors,
born in 1928.
H. Frank Meadows was a member of the First Methodist Church of
Covington, a Mason, a member of the Boy Scout Council, a
recognized leader and business man, causing all to agree with
Head that he was a fine man.
An example of Mr. Frank’s community caring came in spring
1942, when the city of Covington opened a cannery in the
basement of a city-owned building on Usher Street and Mr. Frank
allowed his laundry’s steam to be channeled into the cannery
so that residents could process and save produce from their
victory gardens.
Head said he only left the Meadors’ employ to work in the mill
because of a higher salary.
“I was married; that takes extra money,” Head said. “A
time-study job that set rates for salaries based on production
costs came open, and I took it.”
Head believes wash-and-wear killed the laundry business, and
that when there were mom-and-pop industries and trust between
merchants, such as Meadors, and customers (who could leave their
milk money in the bottle) it was a cleaner, more enjoyable time.
Linda Reynolds is a columnist for the Citizen. She is interested
in stories about historical landmarks in Rockdale and Newton
counties. If you know of a special story, place or event, e-mail
her at [email protected] or call her at
770-483-7108, ext. 252.
|