Having worked our way with weekly “Throwback” features down Main Street in the past several months to Middle Street, we cross the street this week and begin an exploration of the block between Middle and Vine Streets. Looking east on Main Street, the building on the left once known as the Hicks Building, where Smitherman’s Pharmacy is today, became the new home of Hicks’ Ben Franklin 5 & 10 when they moved from the storefront next door to Wilson’s Drugs around 1940.
Hicks’ Ben Franklin enjoyed a thriving business from Montevallo residents and college students for many years. Their candy counter and extensive selection of toys and games became a favorite attraction for local boys and girls, especially at Christmas time. The business changed hands in 1958 when Denson and Bessie Merle Elliott bought the Ben Franklin from Mrs. Laura Hicks, the previous owner. The Elliotts expanded the store when they assumed ownership and continued to offer Montevallo what the local newpaper called a “first-class dime store of which the town of Montevallo can be proud.” The paper also informed its readers that “Ben Franklin stores are locally owned and nationally known. They are operated in hundreds of towns and cities throughout the United States.”
Beginning during the tenure of Mrs. Hicks and then into the ownership of the Elliotts, Dr. Jim H. Day operated a small Optometry shop in the nearly hidden space in the basement of the Hicks Building with its customer entrance on Middle Street. Dr. Day practiced in several municipalities in Jefferson and Shelby Counties and was open for business in Montevallo only on Mondays. In the late 1970’s, Elliott’s Ben Franklin transitioned to a new owner and became Monk’s Variety, still a 5 & 10 cents store. At roughly the same time, the married Pharmacist team of Larry and Donna Smitherman had taken over a small start-up drug store a couple of blocks to the east. Sometime in the 1980’s, Monk’s went out of business and the Smithermans took advantage of the availability of this larger space and more desirable location. They moved Smithermans’ Pharmacy into the former “dime store” building where they became a retail institution on Main Street.
Although the business has had more than one owner since the Smithermans moved on, their name has remained over the business to this very day, serving as a statement of the confidence they earned from their customers over many years as well as the power of having a familiar brand. At some point, Dr. Day gave up the space where he practiced optometry and photographer Chuck King soon opened a photo studio there. While “Closed” deters anyone who approaches these days, the elaborate “Studio of King’s” sign over the door remains. A gifted musician, perhaps Chuck King has put his photography on pause for a time and now spends his time perfecting his Louis Armstrong impression.
Thank you Clay Nordan, Vice President of Montevallo Historical Society, for this information!
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