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Florence resumed, \u201cTruly, I love what I do. I enjoy trying to help people with their sore and hurting feet, and this store has turned out to be such a blessing for my family and me. I love the heritage that I have, and I love my family\u2019s story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how did it all begin? And how did a little shoe store passionate about service make its way to Tullahoma and then withstand the test of time throughout the decades?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Florence recalled the many stories told to her. She said, \u201cIt all started with my great-great-grandfather,James Clayton Sr. He came to America from Newcastle, England, with his wife and three children. They settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. His wife passed away soon after their fourth child was born, prompting Clayton to travel with his four children to the Chattanooga area. When he arrived there, he was told Chattanooga didn\u2019t need another shoemaker there but that Tullahoma, Tennessee, over the mountain, needed one. So what did he do? He followed the need. In 1882, he started a shoe business on Lincoln Street, where we are located today!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJames Clayton Sr.\u2019s son, James Clayton Jr. (my great-grandfather), was often called Zippy. Zippy worked under his father as an apprentice. Later, Zippy found himself working for W.H. Anthony, a local store in town. Zippy, or James Clayton Jr., ended up buying that store in 1900, resulting in the birth of Clayton and Company. Supposedly, he paid $1,800 for the business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe next generation came. James Clayton\u2019s daughter, Pauline Clayton Ratcliffe, was my grandmother. She had ownership of the store but never worked there. However, my grandmother\u2019s cousin, Clayton Hart, did work there for over 60 years. Most people probably remember him as the \u201cClayton\u201d of Clayton\u2019s Shoe Store, though he was never an owner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Florence\u2019s father\u2019s generation moved into the picture next. Her dad, Robert Ratcliffe, and his brother moved to Tullahoma to live with their grandparents during the Depression in 1936. The two young men began working at Clayton\u2019s and attending Tullahoma High School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Florence\u2019s generation came. Florence shared, \u201cDaddy had three daughters, and I was the baby. I graduated high school in 1977 and then went to college for one year at Middle Tennessee State University. I ended up coming back to town and learned more about the business from my cousin, Clayton Hart. He taught me everything from customer service to bookkeeping. At that time, Daddy had already retired and was out enjoying golf most days. Honestly, I don\u2019t think he ever dreamed it would continue on this long.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Florence continued, \u201cThere were times he would say to me, \u2018How are we going to compete with all the changes in business?\u2019 I would always reply, \u2018Well, to me, the only way we can survive is to continue doing what we\u2019ve always said we would do, which was \u2018serve the area with service, quality, and fit.\u2019\u201d And that is what Florence has continued to do over the years!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though Florence will never push her children (Stephen, Mary Frances, and Leslie) or grandchildren to take over the store, she knows they all love the business and its rich history! She believes the family will work out a way to continue the legacy in downtown Tullahoma when the time is right! Either way, Clayton\u2019s Shoe Store has greatly impacted our community with its high standard of service! May Clayton\u2019s \u201cThe Family Shoe Store\u201d live on for another 122 years! GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 1882, James Clayton Sr. started Clayton’s Shoes, a shoe business on Lincoln Street in Tullahoma, where they are still located today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":8996,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover","category-tullahoma"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/DSC_9455-2-comments-1024x682.jpg\")