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Eighty-two years young
Article Autor: Josh Tenery
Over sixty years ago, Barney Gilley, Sr. started his own jewelry repair company in the small town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
Over sixty years ago, Barney Gilley, Sr. started his own jewelry repair company in the small town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Barney served in the Navy during WWII and learned small instrument repair. Upon returning home after the war, he turned that training into a job serving as a watch repairman.
After only about a year of serving as the watch repairman for Elbert Bolling, the gentleman who gave him his first repair job, Barney rented a front window in the local furniture company and opened Gilley’s Jewelers – still repairing watches, but also offering a showcase of jewelry. The store grew and after two earlier moves, Barney built his own building and held his grand opening in 1969. While the business has done well over the years and Barney has loved serving his community and building relationships with his customers and fellow business owners, the road has not been without a few potholes. In 1986, the store burned to the ground when the air conditioner overheated and caught fire. Barney lost everything except what was in the safe. But before Barney could even get his head around the tragedy he was facing he had customers asking him to stay in business. He also had other businesses calling to see how he was doing financially and if they could offer him a space to work. Ultimately he worked in the department store next door until his building could be repaired and reopened just three months later. Today, Barney leaves the repair work to his son, Barney Gilley, Jr. – his eyes won’t let him work on jewelry anymore. But he still works an hour a day, Monday through Friday, cultivating relationships with customers. He says it is the relationships that have kept him coming back, even at 82 years young. His relationships have continued to multiply his business over time. Barney says that they still sell merchandise to customers who have moved away. When he’s not working at the store he has built over the last sixty years, Barney enjoys working on his family farm and maintaining his Thunderbird car collection. To reach Barney and the staff at Gilley’s Jewelers, call (276) 523-0442. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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