Because It's What We Do

  It's still there. Ivey's. The shop on the corner in Downtown Jasper, just off the courthouse square. It's owner, Evelyn opened it 60 years ago. A time when men came to town wearing Fedora style hats and the women wore girdles and if you needed either one of those items you could find them at Ivey's.

  A friend of mine had told me that Ivey's had vintage dresses in original stock for sale and I knew that it was a stop I had to make. Sure enough, the day came when my Mama and I were in Jasper and found ourselves Downtown looking for a parking space. As we went into the store, Evelyn, with her silver hair and smart appearance, rose to greet us from her chair by the window. "Is there something I can help you with?' "What size do you wear?" and she directed me to the section containing my size. My Mama had commented that she used to buy her underwear there and there it was, the same stock she wore in the 70's that fit so well.

  When it was my time to check out, I walked away with a mint green vintage formal that had sleeves that look like Angel wings when you wave your arms around and a leather purse made in Hialeah, Florida. "It's like a museum", my Mama said. That such a place exists in this day and time is almost beyond imagination. Why does Mrs. Evelyn at the age of 83 years old still keep shop after all these years? The city filled her best parking spaces out front with shrubs and the streets to the Atlanta market had become a wearisome maze that defied access.

  It's what she does.

  "Tell your friends about us"' she says as we walk out the door.

   "I will".

   And I'll be back...

     even if I do have to park around back.


p.s.

Went back to Ivey's at a later date and found this cool shirt.

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