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The Turner family, a successful retail couple: Wiley H., Turner Jr., Gladys Lyon Turner
Written by Becky Turner, wife of the late Dr. Wiley H. Turner III. Author of Cooks Corner in the Edgefield Advertiser and active community volunteer.
Edgefield residents Wiley H. Turner Jr. and Gladys Ryan Turner acquired ownership of Turner’s Corner Store from previous owner Wiley H. Turner (1864-1916), of Edgefield. began to obtain rights. This store occupied that corner of Town Square from 1885 until his 1886. The previous building on that corner was destroyed by fire in 1884.
“Nanny,” as her grandchildren affectionately called her, once told me that she and her 15 younger sisters and brothers (whose father had lost his first wife and married her sister a second time) ) and that they were making and selling hats together. Some items had hem stitching, and all of them were for sale. Then she saved money. After taking over her business, she and her “Mr. Bub” (as everyone called him) pooled their savings and drove to the Atlanta Merchandise Mart. They took their purchases back to Edgefield and began “stocking the store.” Since she didn’t have enough products to fill the shelves, she saved the boxes she took the products from and lined them up on the shelves to give the appearance of “full shelves.” Gradually, we were able to buy more products and expand our business. Through their great dedication and hard work, they built and maintained a thriving business.
“Miss Gladys” has run the store with many talented employees for many years, and “Mr. Gladys” has managed the store with many talented employees for many years. Bab’ was in charge of the books, or accounting. He had beautiful penmanship. Some of his beautifully written records remain in his family.
Turner’s Corner Store was a “one-stop shop” for clothing and gift items. They carried the once famous Oshkosh Bigosh men’s and boys’ overalls, women’s dresses, sweaters, coats, clothing, shoes, as well as table linens and many other gift items. There was always a section full of toys at Christmas time.
Their son once said that he was probably the only boy at school who didn’t like hearing the final bell ring. He knew he was expected to sweep the floors and pick up trash at the store. He also declared that he had collected more toys, especially bicycles, than any other boy in town. And it served him very well. As an adult, he was not only able to “cure illnesses and illnesses,” but he was also able to literally “fix” the “diseases” of home appliances. Turner’s Corner Store later opened a furniture annex run by Miss Grady’s sister, Miss Margaret, and her Ryan, which was a huge success. They sell furniture and accessories, cribs and mattresses, and were good at ordering the furniture you wanted from several books.
After her husband’s death in 1959, “Miss Gladys” continued to run a successful business until 1963, when she decided to retire. She then passed on her business to her daughter Margaret Sue Turner Jolly and her husband Clarence Jolly. They and her sons successfully operated and expanded the business until 1992 (she started three more businesses).
This stately old building has now been beautifully restored by Donna and Alex Hamilton.
Feedback from the community and families
Memories from grandchildren
The grandchildren of the entrepreneur Turner couple interviewed for this story added further interest to the story through their memories of growing up with their grandparents. Three of his five grandchildren, “the merry boys”, provided these episodes. The three are, in order of age, oldest to youngest: Daniel, Joel, and Rankin Jolie. Their other grandchildren are the children of Dr. and Mrs. Wiley H. Turner III (Becky and Buddy), sons Wiley and Andy;
Like a chorus, the Jolies said, “She worked in the front of the store and he worked behind the scenes.” They worked six days a week, until 9pm on Saturdays.
One person pointed out that Babu wore hearing aids because he suffered from hearing loss due to a childhood illness.
They had long-time employees like “Miss Pearl” Swearingen. She worked to support the family business known as Quarles Five and Dime, which burned down in 1972. Mrs. Swearingen was then employed by Mr. and Mrs. Turner.
Miss Gladys’ mother, Mrs. Ryan, lived with the Turner family until her death in the late ’40s. “She ran her household,” the Jolies said, giving her daughter Gladys more time to run her store.
Joel Jolly remembered his grandmother telling him that she was able to get money out of the bank before it collapsed during the Great Depression. She liked to have cash on hand, so she had a safe installed in her closet with a false floor to ensure her safety.
One grandson said, “I remember seeing balls of yarn and twine in (Babu’s) workshop and asking why?” Miss Gladys replied that he had never thrown anything away.
Her tombstone reads, from the proverb, “Strength and honor were her garments.”
Memories from the community
When John Pettigrew heard that Miss Gladys would be featured in the third Entrepreneur article, he shared this story. As a child, he loved trick-or-treating at Miss Gladys’ house. “She had arranged the best candies on a china plate on the dining room table.” The children had to walk around the table and choose what they wanted. “It was a big candy bar,” he said.
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