Hubbard and Hoke celebrating centennial

A lot has changed in the past 100 years.

In 1916 Woodrow Wilson was president, "Black Jack" Pershing took American troops into Mexico, during the Mexican Revolution, to capture Pancho Villa.

The Chicago Cubs played their first game in what is now Wrigley Field and the British evacuated Gallipoli as the Ottoman Empire captured Istanbul (then known as Constantinople).

Since then the United States has been through two world wars, the Great Depression, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq (twice), Afghanistan and 16 more presidents.

Blytheville has seen the Air Force base come...and go...and come back...and go again. The lumber industry was huge here and now is no more. Cotton was huge, then soybeans, then rice...now steel.

Cars have gotten very large, very small, and very large again.

Skirts have risen and fallen...so have hairstyles. Some sales taxes were nonexistent but have now risen, and time just kept ticking along.

During all that, one thing that hasn't changed is that people still need furniture in order to sit, eat, cook, wash clothes, be entertained, stay cool, stay warm...and more. They need carpets to walk on and decorations to make their houses feel like homes. They also need to save money when they can and oftentimes they need to finance those purchases because they don't have enough "walking around" money. Those things have never changed.

Another thing that has never changed in the 100 years is the fact that on the corner of Broadway and Main Streets in Blytheville, there has been a furniture store owned by the Hubbards. In fact, Hubbard and Hoke is the oldest business in downtown Blytheville that has been in its same location its entire existence and owned by the same family. [Farmers Bank and Trust and the New York Store are both older, but have had different owners and/or locations.]

The store was started, through the help of a silent partner, George Hubbard, Sr. in 1916. He was was only 20-years old and it was named Hubbard Furniture. It began with an original 50-feet on the first floor and there was an Elk's Lodge upstairs at the time. But over time, as the business grew, Hubbard, Sr. also grew his building. One neighboring building was a barbershop and when it went out of business he bought that building and put in a carpeting business. Another neighbor was ArkMo Power. When they decided to build another building, he bought that building and turned that into an appliance business.

"It just gradually grew until in the 1970s, we remodeled and connected all the buildings and put just one front door, as it is today," George Hubbard said. "Oh, by the way, Jimmy Goforth brought us a Bell telephone book from the 1920's and our first phone number was 147."

Competition has always been great; in fact, in 1929 there were six furniture stores in Blytheville alone.

With a growing business that had survived the hardship of two world wars and the Great Depression, the founding Hubbard was happy when his son, George Hubbard, got out of college and joined the business in 1946.

At that time they changed its name to Hubbard and Sons. Just a few years later, around 1950, when George, Sr.'s oldest sister Mildred Lou and Wallace Hoke moved to Osceola, they opened up the Osceola store (that is still there today).

Unfortunately, in 1949 the company suffered a big fire, particularly in the second floor. But like a phoenix the company rose even stronger. At the time, while they remodeled their store, no one was located in the building now occupied by Day's Clothing, so the Hubbards moved the business into that building for about four months until theirs was ready.

When the founding Hubbard retired and the Hoke's moved to Blytheville in 1957, the company underwent another name change, which has lasted for 60 years now...Hubbard and Hoke Furniture.

Ben and George say that the reasons for their family's success has also not changed -- good customers, good employees and a strident determination to do business in the same manner as their father and grandfather. Their grandfather had a saying that he wanted to buy the best possible furniture at the best possible price and offer the best possible customer service.

"We could not possibly have done this without our good customers and terrific employees. We say and preach all the time, to our employees and to our customers, that we try to give the best customer service anywhere. I think that's what has kept us around for all this time...we really try hard to treat our customers how they ought to be treated," George Hubbard, III said. "We have some customers that are third generation, like Ben and I are, whose grandfathers and fathers and mothers traded with us and now we have the grandchildren...[also] lots of customers that have moved away still come back and trade with us."

When Ben and George's father died in 1985, some may have questioned whether they were ready to take over the company, but time has proven they were more than up to the task. Over the years, the company has employed hundreds of people and currently has 15 employees.

"We've had loyal, great employees for years. A lot of our employees, like many we have right now, tend to stay with us for a long period of time and without good employees there is no way that just the two of us could do what we do...we really appreciate our employees," George said.

In fact, some may be surprised at the name of some of their successful past employees. Three such employees that got some of their start at Hubbard and Hoke before making it big on their own include Dave Russell (who went on to start Russell's Sales), Jimmie Edwards (former mayor of Blytheville and founder of Jimmie Edwards Furniture) and former appliance manager Virgil McGee (who along with his son opened McGee Appliances).

"My granddad's concept, my dad's concept and the concept has always been the same, is that he (George, Sr.) started out and someone gave him a chance (a silent partner). So whenever an employee said "I'm going to try it on my own" there was never any ill feelings. There was always encouragement and good luck. We know you'll do well," George explained. "We've always tried to have good relations with all our competitors."

The Hubbards also haven't changed the way they advertise and communicate with the public. They still use radio and newspaper advertising and sometimes their advertising has been quite entertaining, but successful.

"We've done some silly things, but part of our success has been our advertising...I'm still known as Skinny Santa...originally I went by Gorgeous George...one time I dressed up as the Lone Ranger and I even once ran an April Fools Sale with a picture of me saying 'I'm the biggest fool in town, but don't you be a bigger fool by missing the deals at Hubbard and Hoke'," George said.

Another thing that hasn't changed is the fact that the store and the Hubbards are staples in Blytheville. The Hubbards express the hope that being an anchor for downtown, that their business has drawn customers and that those customers not only shopped with them, but with other merchants as well. They have also provided millions of dollars, over the years, in sales taxes that has helped fund the needs of the area.

But that's not all.

The Hubbards and their employees have also spent many hours and dollars over the years with local causes and charitable organizations. These have ranged from local churches, non-profits, St. Jude's, United Way, Red Cross, Main Street Blytheville, the Chamber of Commerce and more.

Many times they even loaned furniture to local churches in order for them to have special pastor appreciation events and to local theatrical production organizations for set decorations.

The Hubbards both grew up being taught that helping people was an important part of their lives. Another way that the Hubbards have helped people was by carrying so many of their own accounts.

George said, "One of the things that we do is that we carry a lot of our own accounts and we've had a lot of customers over the years come in and say, 'When I had troubles, you were patient with me and waited on me to make a payment' and I've had other customers say, 'When I was just starting out and had no credit and could find no one to give me credit, you gave me a chance. . . you got me started.'"

100 years of change

In spite of all these constants, a lot of things have changed in the last 100 years. They can no longer sell bedroom suits for $69.99 and there are no more cane chairs, but perhaps one of the biggest changes is the competition. When the store opened in 1916 and even to some extent up until the late 1950s, it was very difficult to go out of town to make purchases.

In 1916, when the store was founded, a ride to Osceola took a full day and even to going north to Steele was on gravel or dirt roads. Once they build I-55, competition changed. Customers could then get to Memphis, Cape Girardeau and even to Jonesboro much easier.

"There was a whole different competitive look to things and we adapted to that. We realized that and we adapted. When I came in the '70s we knew we were competing with Memphis, Cape Girardeau and Jonesboro and then all of a sudden, with email and the internet, we basically compete globally," George said.

The company now has a website, a business necessity today, but so does everyone else. The Hubbards recognize that a person can look at a sofa on their floor and then go onto the internet and find many different prices for it, but they won't receive the same customer service.

"It is hard for people to buy furniture on the internet because you can't sit on it and you can't lie down on it. You can't really get a good feel of the fabric; on the other hand you can find all kinds of prices. And we've made a real effort to make sure that we're competitive," George added.

That is why the Hubbards have updated their website, making it mobile friendly and offering multiple catalogs to look through (originally there was only one vender available).

They also provide digital catalogs in the store where customer can sit down in front of a big 60" television and go through catalogs of offerings. The store also offers customer related videos in their store that offer information from cooking tips to recipes and from how to program your remote to how to set up your smart television to receive Netflix and Hulu.

They also have a Facebook page where they put out announcements.

Future

When asked what the future holds for Hubbard and Hoke, George, III said, "Well, we are not going any where any time soon... the reason that we have survived for 100 years is because we've always had the next generation who has come in behind us. Not the entire next generation, but some of it. At this point in time I do not see any of the next generation coming back to take over. That could change, but I don't' see it happening right now."

That doesn't mean the Hubbards aren't making plans for the future though. Neither Hubbard is ready to retire and they still enjoy what they do. Also, they are making upgrades to their store. They are in the process of putting in all new LED lighting for the entire store. They already have spotlight LEDs, but are in the process of changing all fluorescents in order to brighten up the store and to offer customers a more true light. They have also put up a new sign on the building this week.

Celebration

Ben and George are planning a big celebration to celebrate the company's centennial. They will be offering a storewide sale until Saturday, Oct. 15 (day of Chili Cook-off). The Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce is planning an after hours event from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 11 and the public is invited. They will also be giving away over $5,000 worth of furniture that range from reclining Ashley sofa, five-piece dinette sets, five piece bedroom sets, mattress sets, memory foam pillows, an accent table and a silk tree. These gifts will be given away by drawing all week long.

Ben and George also want to invite all their customers to visit the "legacy window" they have created in their corner window. The display they have built includes posters with many old pictures of the store, employees, customers, sales ads, events, etcetera.

They also have old furniture, including a sofa that was sold by George, Sr. in 1927. One of the first VCRs, one of the first Apple computers, an old Philco phonograph and (analog) radio (and also a shortwave radio), old cash registers, office equipment and more.

Ben and George, III, both recognize the legacy they have been given and though they recognize that there is never a dull moment and there is always a problem to solve, they love it and are excited to see what the future holds for their company and for themselves.

thenry@blythevillecourier.com