A few of you may find the Mr. Bowers story quite intriguing.

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Mr. Duke E. Bowers was a noble and decent man. A true humanitarian indeed, leaving his touch on many. He led quite an interesting life although tragically cut short at only 43 years. He was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1874, just ten years after the conclusion of the American Civil War. Life in the Southern United States during those years was tough. But the area was also in recovery, and there was abundant opportunity for those clever enough to seize it. As a young child, his family left Mobile and moved to Kentucky. There, as a young man, he made a failed attempt in the grocery business. Nevertheless, he had an idea he knew would work and he took it to Memphis, Tennessee in 1902 opening the first "Mr. Bowers" grocery store. You couldn't miss it; you could see his name on the outside wall over a block away! This time it worked; his dream became reality. Mr. Bowers sold goods at lower prices than his competitors. He was able to do so because he did not sell on credit or provide free delivery of small orders. And being a man of strong moral conviction (he was a fervent opponent of the death penalty) Mr. Bowers did not sell tobacco or liquor in his stores. Within ten years, there were thirty-nine "Mr. Bowers' Stores" in Memphis. He achieved commercial and financial success and became a highly respected and admired businessman/citizen in the Memphis community. He advertised his grocery stores in the newspaper, calling them "Temples of Economy." He was a true philanthropist with a special concern for children. He built a wading pool in the city's Overton Park. The pool had a plaque reading, "Presented by Duke C. Bowers, to the Children of Memphis, 1913." I found a picture of it on the Internet. It was a big deal for Memphis kids for a long time, but after falling into disrepair in the 1970's it was covered over in 1979 for expansion of the park's playground. Once on a visit to Hot Springs, Arkansas, Mr. Bowers took thirty-nine orphans with him to the circus. He was also an enthusiastic booster of Memphis. On a trip to London, he hired men to wear sandwich boards reading, "Memphis, Tennessee, wants citizens." His strong convictions resulted in him becoming active in politics, being selected as a delegate to the National Republican Convention in 1916. No time to hit on his brief political activities, but in 1915 he did, if only temporally, end the death penalty in the state of Tennessee. Quite an accomplishment, considering the times. About after ten years in the Memphis grocery business, Mr. Bowers's health failed. He reluctantly turned the management of the groceries over to a firm that expanded them to 114 stores before selling out to a man named Barney Kroger, who had started his own chain of grocery stores back in 1883. That national chain today is simply known as "Kroger". Had Duke Bowers's health held out, todays "Kroger" might well instead be called "Mr. Bowers"! Having sold his beloved "Mr. Bowers" stores and in rapidly declining health, Mr. Bowers and his wife Ethel left Memphis and moved to Dresden, Tennessee, about 90 miles to the northeast. He died there on December 22, 1917, at the age of 43. His death was greatly mourned both there and in Memphis. The Memphis newspaper ran a long obituary under the headline, "Philanthropist of Nationwide Fame Has Passed to His Rest." All businesses in Dresden were closed for the funeral. Mr. Bowers and Ethel Bowers (who survived until 1958) are buried at Sunset Cemetery in Dresden. When I first came upon this old, long abandoned "Mr. Bowers" store I thought it strange to have the name on the building like that. It's located in a Memphis area currently deep in urban decay, but I could tell at one time something good was happening here, and there had to be a good story to go along with it. And there was. Thanks much for noticing the good works of Mr. Bowers! marshall