PROGRESS • TWO-THOUSAND-EIGHTEEN
BUSINESS
CLAIBORNE PROGRESS • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018 • WWW.CLAIBORNEPROGRESS.NET
Danny England Motors: Specializing in customer service By Allen Earl
allen.earl@claiborneprogress.net
Danny England Motors opened it’s doors in 1975, but his family had already made a mark on Claiborne County commerce long before then. Danny’s grandfather D.M. England and wife Irene had a Chevrolet dealership during 1928-32, and Danny’s father Delbert and wife Margaret established themselves as a fixture in the hardware business. Danny helped Delbert run his hardware store and learned the basics of how to treat customers. Being youthful, he really didn’t understand how beneficial it would Allen Earl | Claiborne Progress be when he started his own Danny and Barbara England stand inside the showroom at Danny England business. He also worked at John Patty Chevrolet as a car Motors.
salesman in 1969. A few years later, Danny left and began his dealership at the current location. It featured a small two-room office and small lot. The hardware store closed in 1986, and then Danny began building his dealership up. He started with just a handful of cars and kept expanding the building and lot until the most recent remodel in 2013, which now features an ultra-nice indoor showroom. Danny recalls his first ever vehicle sale, “I remember it well. It was a 1973 Chevrolet step-side pick up, and I sold it to Willie Drummonds.” He has sold everything from Corvettes to Gremlins and changed with the times just as the original V.W. Beetles and
conversion vans came and went. He went through a period of luxury car sales including Cadillac and Lincolns. The dealership was one of, if not the first, to bring a NASCAR show car into the area by bringing in Cale Yarborough’s famous No. 28 into town to draw in potential customers to his lot. Danny along with wife Barbara and son Daniel specialize in customer service and providing quality vehicles to their customers, but equally as important is their dedication to the community. Danny began working on Lion’s Club fundraisers and worked to get the local club on top of the list of best perSee ENGLAND | B4
The rise and demise of the Star Theater By Allen Earl
allen.earl@claiborneprogress.net
In 1934, the Star Theater was constructed and became an iconic building that stood for 84 years. The Star Theater was built to provide entertainment for Claiborne County and surrounding areas. The theater featured 350 seats and had only one screen, but it also featured a stage for concerts and plays. As cinematic movies began to catch on, the Star Theater was there for the ‘good old days’ of movies. During its time rolling reels of films, Star Theater played titles like Gone With the Wind, Roots, Jaws, Star Wars and many other iconic films. In 1982, Mike Campbell and Neal Melton combined efforts and purchased the Star Theater Photo submitted forming a company entitled A burnt film projector cartridge is Premier Cine- one of the only things left from the mas — which Star Theater after the fire. through time ended up being Regal Cinemas through Cinemark Cinemas. The theater is credited as being the first cinema of the Regal company. Time went on and years went by. The movies kept playing and even Elvis Pressley’s back-up quartet, The Stamps, performed on the theater stage. However, the screen and stage was destined to go silent as the larger theaters with multi-screens were becoming the norm. Sure enough, the last reel of film was sent through the projector. Pam Ensor saw an empty Star Theater, purchased the building and converted it to an indoor See STAR | B4
Jan Runions | Claiborne Progress
Nick Brinkley, production development manager, runs the Pathfinder — the newest piece of equipment at Bushline.
Bushline: Where hometown quality endures By Jan Runions
jan.runions@claiborneprogress.net
Bushline Furniture is pumping out its brand to the seasonal market – something it’s done for many a decade under the old watch. When current owner Jerry Sexton bought out former owner Hollis Bush, his number one concern was maintaining the respectability built over years through the efforts of the Bush family. “The product has been well-received in the different markets. So, we continue to expect a lot of growth this year,” said Sexton, of his newest Claiborne County enterprise.
He spoke of earlier days, when NAFTA (the North America Free Trade Act) became law. “This area, North Carolina and Mississippi used to dominate the furniture industry. But, when most ‘upholsteries’ went overseas I thought, ‘I’m probably going to be out of business in five years,’” said Sexton of his older businesses, located in Morristown and Bean Station. “And, then I’d find little niche markets here and there, and we’d grow a little bit. Over the years, we found the home-healthcare industry – like power lift chairs – and the OEM market to add to our existing retail trade.”
The OEM (original equipment manufacturer) market consists of those retail stores like Sears, who carries a product label, like Kenmore. Sears does not build the product line. Instead, it contracts with a manufacturer to produce the appliance. The same is true across the industry board, including furniture, he said. Sexton entered the furniture business some 35 years ago, opening a furniture store and plant in Bean Station. The company grew to incorporate a second retail store, located in Morristown. He See BUSHLINE | B4
The Realty Group: Treasures found By Jan Runions
jan.runions@claiborneprogress.net
Carl Nichols, owner of The Realty Group, has earned a reputation for knowing the perfect match of residential or commercial structure to buyer. Nichols got into the real estate business “by accident,” he says. “I don’t remember ever having seen a real estate sign in Harlan or Bell county, until I moved to Tennessee. Up in that part of the
country, anyone with real estate would pass it on to their children. It just stays in the family. I don’t know if they even knew what a real estate agent was. “So, it was never something I had an aspiration of doing. I knew absolutely nothing about it,” said Nichols. Reeling from the death in 1979 of his ailing mother, Nichols says he cast about for something that would fill the hours previously spent caring for her every need.
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“That was at the end of my third year of teaching. It all came falling down, all at once. There was no mother to take care of. School was letting out. I felt like I was going to go stark raving mad,” said Nichols. An advertisement in a Knoxville newspaper set Nichols on the road to earning his real estate license. Classes were about to begin. See REALTY | B4