Dry cleaning shops in Union were recorded as early as 1910. However, the location of most of these first shops cannot be identified because either the owners did not give an address in their advertisements or the building numbers have changed or the building did not survive. Even though the businesses’ whereabouts cannot always be identified, many people reading the Appeal today will recognize some of these names.
In 1910, C.E. Williams opened Union Pressing Shop. L.D. Abney in 1912 opened a laundry and pressing shop at Mabry’s Barber Shop.
Next in 1913 came Jess Hitt’s, W.V. Horton’s, and C.T. Jenkins’ shops. M.M. Horton opened City Pressing and got a new steam press in 1914. Then in 1917 Marrell Tyner and in 1918 Ulmer Hester, G.H. Edmonds, and Dana Moore owned shops.
R.C. Hays opened the Pres
sing Club in 1921 while McBeath Pressing began in 1923, and R.I. Miller bought Griffin Pressing Shop in 1925. In 1926 E.B. Majure’s Pressing opened at 104 Main St. next to Sessums Hotel. He bought E.S. Dollar Dry Cleaning Shop in 1936 and later in the year moved next to Freeman and Thomas store at 221 Main St. Then in 1937, Majure moved his Majure Dry Cleaning one store over to 223 Main Street before selling it to Hazel French. French changed the name to Union Dry Cleaners.
In 1942, Herschel Nicholson bought Union Dry Cleaners from French. Then in April 1944, Nicholson sold the business to his employee Max Hand. Next, Robert Mills, who was currently working for Hand, and Joe Cleveland, an employee of Nicholson in his new business, together bought Union Dry Cleaners from Hand in August 1948.
The cleaners had a home pick-up and delivery service at this time. Mills left in 1961 to become a rural mail carrier. Cleveland kept his cleaners until December 1974 when a fire started in the adjoining building at 221 Main Street and burned both buildings. Cleveland did not re-open after the fire, leaving Union with only one dry cleaners.
Moving back to 1944, after Nicholson sold Union Dry Cleaners to Mills and Cleveland, he immediately bought Thomas Dry Cleaning Plant. In July, he moved his new business to 400 Bank Street and changed the name to Nicholson Dry Cleaners. Nicholson’s final move came in 1957 when he bought and dismantled the building at 303 Main Street.
He constructed a new building there for his cleaners, which included a drive-in service. Immediately, Nicholson sold his former 400 Bank Street building to the city, who hired Clyde Staton to remodel it into a new City Hall. In July 1957, the city moved City Hall from its previous location upstairs in the Masonic Hall into the new building, which is still used today.
After Nicholson’s untimely death in 1962, his wife Ridgell, daughter Sylvia and her husband W.H. Smith, along with Kenneth Horton, kept the business in operation. Ridgell sold the cleaners to Horton in 1977, and he changed the name to Horton Cleaners.
He began to close his business on Saturdays in 1985. He last had the cleaners in full operation in 1996. Then he operated as a pick-up station for Quality Cleaners of Philadelphia. Next in 1999, he rented to Harmon Cleaners, who again used the building to operate a full operational dry-cleaning business. Finally, in 2005, Hot Spot barbecue opened in the building, and Union no longer had a dry-cleaning establishment.
Here are this week’s questions:
• Do you remember when Mr. John Mott’s store on the northwest corner of Decatur Street and Jackson Road closed and if another business was there before Staton’s Fireworks Stand?
• Do you know what happened to the two-story building known at one time as One Mile Inn located on the NE corner of old Hwy. 15 and Hwy. 494?
If you have additional information or memories to share, contact me at teresablount26@yahoo.com or 601-774-5564 or 109 Woodhaven Dr., Union 39365.
