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Edwards recalls a life spent in the grocery business

By Barry Merrill
NL Publisher

09 April 2008 — The man who sold groceries to most of Johnston County at one time has cut back some, maybe a mild concession to his years, but he still is at it most days.

Melvin Edwards’ family gathered over the weekend to celebrate the patriarch of the clan and the man who led the clan’s grocery business, virtually from the beginning.

Mr. Melvin’s father, Joe S. Edwards, actually began in the grocery business in Princeton before the Depression, but he went out of business and began farming.

Melvin joined the Merchant Marines during World War II, and when he returned home to Princeton, he convinced his father to go back into the grocery business. They built a store on Center St., where Auto Parts and Supply now stands, though "groceries" meant something a lot different than it does today. Groceries were more staple items that you couldn’t find around the family farms.

“I remember someone coming through town selling dressed chickens on ice. If I bought three of them, I’d probably take two of them home eventually to eat. People had plenty of chickens running around the yard, and no one thought they needed to be killed and dressed out for them.”

Mule collars were more useful to folks around Princeton back then, and so the Edwards’ store would stock those and general supply items, in addition to “staples.”

The grocery business was and is named after Melvin’s grandfather, Vine Edwards, to honor him, though he never got into the business. Pretty soon after, Melvin’s father wanted to get out, and Mutt Radford became Melvin’s partner, but Mutt longed to get back on the road, so a year later, the Edwardses bought him back out.

Things went well in the Princeton store after that, and Melvin saw the chance to open other stores. His father and mother, Lois Rowe Edwards, known to many in the area as Mama Lois, had plenty of children. Along with five sisters, Lillian Mitchell, Marie Long, Rose Peele, Betty Pharr and Jean Garner, Melvin has six brothers who he brought into the expanding grocery business.

One of the opportunities Melvin saw was for fresh, local meats, and the family bought Kenly Frozen Food Locker, with his brother Theron, or “Pete,” in charge. They opened a store in Kenly in 1955, and a cousin, Sid Edwards, ran that store.

A nephew, Bill Joe, ran the store for the family in Four Oaks that they opened in 1959. In 1961 and 1963 they opened stores in Selma and Pikeville respectively, and brothers J.S. and Russell ran those stores for the family.

Those two brothers eventually left the grocery business for the ministry, a testimony to the deep faith of the family.

Two other brothers, Bob and Henry, got involved. Bob took over the Pikeville store, and Henry opened a store in LaGrange in 1967.

In 1975 they opened stores in Smithfield and Benson. Two of Melvin’s sons ran those stores. Bruce started in Princeton and moved to Smithfield, and Phil opened the store in Benson.

In 1989, the Smithfield store moved from their downtown location down Brightleaf Blvd.
Melvin’s middle son, Steve, came back to work with the family business, working in the Princeton store, that moved out to US 70 after finding no room for expansion downtown. The new Princeton store went up in 1978.

 “I needed to expand, but there was no land available. Bertha McClenny sold me the land out on the highway, but she wouldn’t sell the land behind the store where CAM Fabrications now stands. That was her best tobacco land.”

Still, the new store had plenty of parking.

His youngest daughter, Phyllis, is still working in the Smithfield store. His other daughters, Rosemary, now Gatewood, and Sara, now Moore, both helped out as they were growing up.

Mr. Melvin credits much of his success with seeing a change in the grocery business. In a time when A&P, Winn-Dixie, Colonial, Big Star and Piggly Wiggly were the dominant names in the grocery business, local grocers made their living selling to local farmers. That business was written on credit, with the farmers settling their bill at the end of the season, at least most of the time.

He saw where some grocers were going to a cash basis, as he saw some farmers who had run bills up with one grocer would go down the street and pay cash with their competitor.

As he saw that trend, he told other members of the family he would like to try going to a cash business, but they were doubtful. They closed the doors for two days, marked down prices, then re-opened. Mr. Melvin admits that six months in he wished he had listened, but eventually business picked up.

They tried to find competitive advantages. As a locally run store, he put together his ads just a few days before the ads actually ran in the papers, and he could take advantage of late movements in prices.

He often used drinks, bread and milk as “leaders” selling at cost to attract customers. “I always told people that you can’t sell anybody anything if you don’t get them in the store.”

In 2004, Food Lion approached the Edwards Family, saying they were going to come to Princeton and offered to buy the Princeton store.

Mr. Melvin recalls the tough decision, saying they prayed about it. “Princeton would not and could not support three stores. It was the hardest thing I ever did because I started it.”

Over the weekend, he recalled how when he got married, his wife, Evelyn, had to clean off the paint he had on him from painting the new store.

Through most of the years he had Evelyn, but lost her to cancer four years ago.

They eventually sold all of the stores except Smithfield and Four Oaks, and Melvin and his secretary, Faye Woodard, keep the Princeton buying office open to help coordinate things for the two stores.

During the years he did his civic duty, serving on the town board for a number of years, but particularly felt the call to serve on the Johnston Memorial Hospital board. He ended up with 20 years on that board, 16 as chairman.

He also had his hand, in a way, in the newspaper business. About thirty years ago, members of the Princeton Lions Club decided that the town needed a newspaper in order to bolster the community, particularly to ward off the push to consolidate the local high school into North Johnston. He and Carl Gurley from the club approached Hart Mershon, who was running the Kenly News at the time, a paper Mr. Melvin advertised in and respected, and asked him to start a paper to serve Princeton. Edwards IGA and Piggly Wiggly pledged to run a full page ad in the paper every week to help get the paper started. That led to the start of the Princeton Leader, now the Princeton News Leader.

Mr. Melvin acknowledges the Lord’s hand in all that has happened. “God has blessed me. The Lord has kept me calm throughout.”

The family and friends celebrated his 80th birthday with a reception at the fellowship hall of Princeton United Methodist Church Saturday.

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