Issue link: https://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/1021328
29 300,000-square-foot facility that was the last headquarters and shipping depot for West Point Stevens in Valley. The Bush brothers bought the long-vacant plant "out of convenience" for storing, cataloguing, re-cuing, polishing and delivering their products. Trains used to travel through the middle of the building to pick up textiles bound for points around the globe. Today, the Hudson employees traverse the concrete floors to select heart pine for sales primarily to custom homebuilders. "We don't have a lot of retail customers come through here," Thomas says, walking through an evolving showroom where examples of their work line the floor and walls. The Bush brothers anticipate continued growth for Old Hudson Flooring, having yet to fully use their adjacent 28,000-square-foot building that was formerly headquarters for 360 West Point clerical workers. Remodeling and renovation is planned for both buildings, but at least another 18 months of old mill deconstruction lies ahead, which will "take several years to process," says 36-year-old Thomas. The company will continue being a one- stop shop for high-end customers building big houses and vacation retreats. The brothers also offer engineered wood products that mirror the more expensive heart pine. "We didn't know exactly where this was going to take us, but it's been a great ride," Thomas says. "It's work that is fairly complicated, fairly stressful and very, very high-risk. But this is something we're going to stay in for a long time." Valley Parks & Recreation Hundreds of girls and boys in swimsuits fill every nook and cranny of the vast Valley Community Center on a Friday summer morning, as city workers and volunteers try to line them up or keep kids corralled during the opening session of a two-day district swim meet. More than 300 swimmers from seven teams representing Auburn, Opelika, Tallassee and Valley are giving it their all trying to win a ribbon and move on to the state championships. The event is business as usual for Parks and Recreation Director Laurie Blount and her staff of 10 full-time and 20 part-time (mostly summer) employees, assisted by about 40 volunteers. The swim meet is one of many big events each year at the sprawling Valley Sportsplex, which would be the envy of similar-sized towns and could be a Bush and employee Doug Morris cut heart pine beams into 6-inch-wide sections Children in relay race at district swimming meet in Valley Community Center. Photo by Chuck Chandler