W.H. Smith

     Time and Wal-Mart have a way of changing a community and as the twentieth century ticked down to its last days, so did one of De Leon’s most venerated business institutions, W.H. Smiths.  Most people can only remember the dry goods store on Texas Avenue and the peach orchard out on the Gorman Highway, but over the years there was much, much more to Smith Stores.

    With a $7,000 loan from the Farmers and Merchants National Bank, W.H. Smith Sr. and his business partner, Bob Steakley left the employment of Higginbothams and together opened a grocery, implement and hardware business directly across the street from Higginbothams in what is now the northern half of the old F&M Bank building.  (The F&M expanded into that portion of the building in 1950.)  The grocery was called Steakley and Smith.

   In 1927, the partnership acquired the stock of the E.E. Akers store, located in the old W.C. Streety building.  The pair operated a dry goods store in the Streety building and the grocery and hardware in the F&M building.

   Then on January 17, 1928, Bob Steakley joined his two brothers in a highly successful string of Chevrolet dealerships scattered across north Texas and Hiram became the sole owner, changing the name to Smith Stores.  The phone number was 145.  Curb service and free home delivery was offered at the grocery as well as custom ground coffee while you waited.

     When the depression hit, Hiram closed the bank location moving the grocery and hardware to the rear of the Streety building.

      In 1934 Hiram acquired 100 acres on the Gorman Highway and planted one thousand peach trees and soon had yet another business underway.

     While folks in town had electricity most people living in the rural areas did not so, during the 1930s R.C.A. and Zenith manufactured affordable radios that operated on electricity or batteries, and Norge manufactured both electric and gasoline powered refrigerators, ranges and washing machines.  Smith became a dealer for all these appliances and did very well.  In 1936 he sold more Norge appliances than any comparable dealer in the area.  He was rewarded with a trip to the Norge plant in Michigan and a diamond ring.

     For a number of years, Smith gave Poll Parrot Shoe tokens for purchasing that brand of shoes.  The tokens could be used to purchase dinnerware, watches, tools or other items in the store.  In the 50’s and 60s the store gave Gold Bond Stamps and later S&H Green Stamps.

     In 1938, Smiths held a big month long promotion to collect used tires which could be for “smudging” or fired to prevent the peach trees from freezing out at the fruit farm.  Points were awarded for the tires and Mr. and Mrs. Pete Sides won a bedroom suite for their efforts.  When World War II began the remaining tires were sold as scrap rubber.

      As rationing grew more severe during World War II, Smith phased out his grocery and allowed Blanch Gentry to set up a hair salon in the rear of the store.

     Hiram Smith Jr. took over the operations of the store and orchard in 1954 after graduating from A&M, obtaining a MBA from the University of Texas and serving a two year stint in the army including 8 months in Korea.  He also married Dale Randals of Hico.

     Hiram Jr., as most people called him, modernized the store, started holding annual White Sales, Early Bird Sales, and Midnight Madness Sales.  He added drapery manufacturing, and sold carpet samples that covered the floors of many of De Leon’s homes.

      The store closed just before Christmas 1999.

A few memories:

Each Christmas until artificial trees became popular, the whole north side of Smiths was stacked with trees that could be smelled anywhere in downtown if the wind was just right.

Mother’s first washing machine was a Norge.  Hiram Jr. had to work to get it level so that the machine would not “walk” when it was on the spin cycle.

President Roosevelt was the recipient of fresh peaches from the Smith farm about 1944.  He requested more.

My parents were renting a house from the Smiths and had to make a quick exit when the Korean War ended sooner than expected and Hiram and Dale needed their house back.

The lettering behind the teller line at the old F&M Bank that read “50 YEARS OF SERVICE.’  were created by Hiram Jr.

“What did they eat at the Alamo?  De Leon Peaches.” was the Texas Sesquicentennial theme of Smith’s and Nowlin’s float in the 1986 festival parade.

Above:  Hiram Smith Sr. on the left when selling buggies and vehicles at Higginbothams.  He was manager of the Hardware Dept. in 1918.

Above: Hiram Sr. standing in the grocery ca. 1920 with a stack of bags of flour.  Below:  If you look at the cover of the De Leon Centennial book, you will see a man leaning on a similar stack (fourth man from the right).  That too is Hiram Sr. taken in August 1923.  He once said that they though stacking the bags of flour on the street was good advertising.

Smith’s staff in the early days.  (L-R) Dee Bell, Lula Mae Smith Stone.

L.B. Morton, Whaley Smith, and Bill Stacy ran the grocery.

“Big Selling Event

A Store Full of Bargins

So Come Get Your Share”

W.H. Smith Dry goods store in the rear of this Cub Scout float in the P&M parade ca. 1955.   Note the Zenith Radio sign on the front of the store.

For many years, Hiram Sr. would borrow a Farmall tractor from J.D. Tate to pull a trailer displaying peaches in the parade.  Both the Smiths and Tates like so many De Leon families of that era had come here from Pontotoc and Lafayette counties in Mississippi.