Two businesses honored for long-lasting commitment to community
BOLIVAR, Tenn. — Several businesses were honored for their long-lasting commitment to their work and the community.
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development recognized companies in southwest Tennessee that have been in business for 100 years or more.
Commissioner Stuart McWhorter presented the plaques to the honorees.
The Bulletin Times, located at 200 East Market Street, was one of the first stops the department came to.
The Bulletin Times has been operating for over 150 years.
Owner Darrell Teubner stated that he is overjoyed by the award and committed to his work.
“We’re just caretakers of a time-honored tradition of newspapers. We’re just carrying on what so many people have done before us,” Teubner said.
Although we are in a world where the internet is the cool thing, Teubner stated that the paper is still relevant.
“It’s fun because people still rely on the newspaper. The internet is a fleeting thing. It can be erased at any moment and you really don’t have to stand behind it,” Teubner said.
Teubner also stated that it was because of his co-workers that he was able to succeed thus far.
“They’re as much part of how this newspaper functioned as me because we needed all those people,” Teubner said.
The Bulletin Times wasn’t the only business recognized.
For 107 years, Hockaday Handmade Brooms also received a plaque for their centennial business.
Owner Jack Martin stated that creating handmade brooms at one point was a family tradition.
“Broom making was a simple thing that we did on the farm. My great-grandad started, then my grandad and they weren’t going out performing, demonstrating, or anything like that. They’d make a broom, give them away at church, things like that. So it started out very very humble,” Martin said.
Martin spoke a lot about his wife Virginia, who passed away from cancer in 2015.
Martin stated that Virginia, whom he also calls Baby Doll, was the visionary behind his business for many years.
“All of this happened because of Baby Doll because she was an artistic type of person where I’m kind of a nuts and bolts kind of person. So that’s how it kind of evolved to what I’m doing today,” Martin said.
Martin is proud of the fact that his brooms are long lasting and he prides himself on making them with love.
“My technique, the way my family has been putting them together, will make the broom last for years. We average high as six to 10 years. I’ve got customers that’s had them 15 plus,” Martin said.
JP Shelly and Sons were also a business that was awarded a plaque by Commissioner McWhorter.
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