POWERGRAMS

32 32 a vaulting barrel is used for stretching and geing a notion of the riding process. Another stall has "Troy," a life-size replica that kids can mount or draw on. Different stalls have specialized equipment to prepare riders young and old. Down the path is a new larger barn that is home to Black Flight, Ziggy, Elvis, Waffle and the other 12 resident horses of all sizes and varieties. Two large whiteboards list weekly chores, specifying more than 20 things students should do, from cleaning saddles to sweeping stalls, to feeding animals and scooping poop. Each accomplishment is marked before the boards are swept clean to start a new week. "We think that builds responsibility," says O'Neal. "That was one of the biggest things I saw with my own children when we went through." A "moment of clarity" for the staff happened when an autistic teenager telephoned because he had been unable to finish his chores before nightfall. He felt an obligation to return and get the job done. "They always show great love for our boys and their accomplishments," says Julie Jones, a mother of two children who regularly visit. "We love the Red Barn and are thankful beyond words for the six years we have been blessed by it." The Pants Store The world has changed a lot since Taylor Gee started selling pants across the Southeast out of the trunk of his Mercury sedan. People got wind of his warehouse, searched through the bins for cheap trousers and began calling Gee's business "The Pants Store." In the intervening 68 years, The Pants Store has gone from Gee to his son, Mickey, to his sons Michael and John, from the original downtown Leeds storefront to shops in Mountain Brook, Trussville, Tuscaloosa and Huntsville, to the worldwide web. "I grew up here," John Gee says from his office in the back of the Leeds location that takes up a city block. "I worked in junior high, high school, wrapping Christmas gis, selling Levi's." When their father died in 2012, The Pants Store management moved to its third generation. Michael and John sell work uniforms, socks, shoes, belts and other men's and women's clothing from more than 60 popular brands, always promising to sell the best quality at the lowest price. "Stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap," was their predecessors' mantra. "The town named it The Pants Store because that's all our grandfather sold," says John. "People who aren't familiar with it laugh when I say I own The Pants Store." Women's clothing and shoes have become the best- sellers for the one-time all-men's-pants business that now employs 72 part-time and full-time workers. Gee says it's no coincidence that his grandfather got into the business manufacturing women's blazers and sportswear, only deciding to sell that factory aer their father took over retail sales. "We sell a lot of pants but the inexpensive women's outfits for $40 just fly out of the stores," John says. While customers still travel miles to shop at one of The Pants Stores locations, the grandsons took to online sales and social media in 2017, with tens of thousands of followers now on Facebook and Instagram. The brothers Gee are shipping clothes all over the country from their online boutique. "That's really where we see the business moving," John says. "Our sales are up bigtime online this year." And the management might well move to a fourth crew of Gees. Michael has a young son and John has two daughters. "We're still a mom and pop store but a big mom and pop store," John says. "I'd love to see somebody else in our family get involved down the line." Rails and Ales Children's squeals rise above rocker Rick Carter's singing as a beanbag falls through the small, round opening on a game board, signaling a win for one team. Other kids nearby play giant Jenga and other games on the grass. Parents join in, watch from picnic tables and buy burgers from a food truck pulled inside the fenced playground at Rails and Ales. Beneath large trees and a covered patio, some parents are sipping wine or cra beer. The scene is a bright idea brought to life by four old high school buddies who are challenging the norm. "To be honest, none of us knows what we are doing," says co-owner Jamie Blair. "None of us has been in this kind of business before." Blair, Chad Anderson, Carey Kennedy and Shane St. John still enjoyed each other's company long aer high school, oen meeting for a beer or to watch a ballgame. They didn't enjoy the bar scene but imagined a pet-friendly place where families like theirs could gather for fun. St. John suggested opening a brewery in Leeds. That proposal ultimately was scaled back to Rails and Ales, John Gee and Michael Gee own The Pants Store.

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