POWERGRAMS

31 "It got stuck in one stairwell and we couldn't go up or down," Sears says. "I finally had to saw off several spindles under the handrailing to move the headboard. It took us about three or four hours to get it up there. If we ever sell the house, that bed will stay on the third floor." e Sears sporadically open Kirkwood for tours but are considering doing it more frequently. "A lot of people think that Kirkwood is the thing that gets people into Eutaw," he says. "We're going to do all we can to help." Banks & Company Jamie Banks has seen it all in his days at Eutaw's oldest and largest retail business, Banks & Company, where he's worked most of his days. One customer wanted to return a pair of muddy boots because they didn't fit right after two weeks working in the woods, he says laughing. But for the most part, the fourth-generation CEO of the hardware company founded in 1889 enjoys the customers who search for, and usually find, just about anything one can imagine in the world of hardware. ere are rows and rows of bins for nuts and bolts among electrical wire and components, paint, ladders, garbage cans, fishing equipment, pet supplies and a giant Christmas stocking hanging from the ceiling. "You gotta have what people want," Banks says. Banks, 63, recalls a time when the store sold much more, including groceries and clothing. He's been there from his earliest memories, following in the footsteps of founder James O. Banks, who handed it down to Ralph Banks, who turned it over to Jamie and Phil Banks, the latest owner's father and uncle. Jamie Jr., the current "sweeper, ship-righter, owner," has been leading Banks & Company 41 years. He owns 90 percent of the business, while his sons, Oliver and Harris, own 5 percent each. Banks & Company was founded the same year as Case cutlery company. e Eutaw store is one of few original dealers of the popular pocket knives. Walls and cabinets of Banks' office in the back of the building are covered in Case knife collector display cases. Banks & Company has never moved from its corner at the Greene County Courthouse Square, through the years doubling the size of the first building and spreading across the lot with a lumber warehouse. He opens a ledger from 1891 in which his predecessors painstakingly recorded every sale in perfect cursive ink penmanship. "From groceries to coffins and everything in between, they sold it all," Banks says, pointing to small sales on many lines, including partial payments on the purchased items. "We've been doing credit since time started," he says. e original building was Eutaw's clothing headquarters when Banks was a child. People came from all around to buy suits, dresses ("some as big as a pup tent") and everyday attire. e Banks moved to strictly hardware and building supply sales 45 years ago. e store's nine employees provide personal service to customers looking for quality goods at low prices, managing to stay in business at a time when Lowe's and Home Depot rule the roost nationally. "You can't fight them," Banks says. "eir cost is a lot less Fourth-generation store owner Jamie Banks works in Eutaw's oldest business; shows entries in ledger from 1800s.

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