Dewey Morgan and his Furniture Company have been a fixture in downtown Middlesboro for 50 years. He has been known as a businessman, councilman, mentor and friend to countless people; some who remain, and many long departed.

Morgan was born in a small community near Pruden, Tenn., called Morgan Hollow. The third generation merchant learned at an early age that hard work and perseverance were the tools for success in business.

“I was raised in a dry goods store, a general store,” said Morgan of the store his grandmother started. “My grandmother was the most ambitious person I’ve ever known.”

Dewey arrived in Middlesboro as a young man, accompanying his father whose intention was to open a dry goods store in town. Conditions for the enterprise didn’t prove adequate at the time, during the 1950s, and subsequently, the business folded. Still, the experience did little to sour Morgan on entrepreneurship and shortly after, he took his first shot at becoming a businessman.

“I started selling ringer washers from the Maytag Agency,” he recalled, “then the automatics came out, and I didn’t do too well in that business. I started selling furniture and kept trying to get a good mix of merchandise. Finally, I made a little money.”

The furniture company is no longer in its original location, but it has not moved far. Morgan purchased the current location of the store many years ago from Knoxville businessman Sam Horne. Rent at the first location, across the street from the current one, had proved too expensive for the then-modest business.

“He wanted to sell it and I wanted to buy it. I borrowed $250 from my mother for the down payment,” he explained. “Now I own both locations.”

His rise to success was somewhat slow and not without obstacles. He lost his business three times: once to a tornado and twice to arson. Since the beginning, he has retained a steadfast resolve and found help among the community.

“I would not give up,” said Morgan, “through tornados, depressions, fire, sickness; and I got stronger as I came along. I just committed myself, and if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

Throughout the years, the relationships Dewey Morgan has shared have yielded him support both professionally and personally.

“When I started out, I had no money and no credit. People of the community, other business owners, boosted me along the way,” he recalled.

Bobby Jenkins, a high school friend of Dewey’s, was in charge of the Morgan account at the First National Bank and was instrumental to the success of his first business.

“We had what was called a ‘floor plan’ and that meant that I would buy one hundred pieces of merchandise and if I sold them I would pay the bank and they would make interest on them. They would come and check your inventory,” he explained. “So when I got behind, I took empty boxes and stacked them in the warehouse. Bob knew what I was doing and he let me by two or three times. I don’t believe I’d be here today if it weren’t for Bob Jenkins.”

Jenkins was one of the many friends and acquaintances that Dewey holds dear. He remembers Geneva Cawood very fondly, calling her: “one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known.”

David Smith, the proprietor of Smith Electric, served as Morgan’s mentor as he began his career, never failing to give him sound business advice. Many other businessmen and women, even those in competition with Morgan’s own business, served as friends and colleagues.

“The Cardwells were neighbors, they were precious. Roberta White had probably the most successful store between Knoxville and Lexington. She didn’t care for a lot of other merchants, but for some reason she liked me. She helped me a lot and I remember her kindly,” he recalled.

Dewey counts several of Middlesboro’s past business owners as friends, among them were John Abrams and his family, George and Lil Campbell, Richard and Georgeanne Tamer, former mayor and businessman Ike Ginsburg and many more.

“One in particular was Daisy Tamer. She was not well thought of by the community because she ran an establishment that didn’t meet with much approval,” Morgan said of his departed friend. “Daisy and I were close, close friends. She had a good business sense about her and was a very good person. Far better than the community would have accepted at that time.”

His dedication to the community led him to the Middlesboro City Council, where he served under three mayors and alongside many fellow councilmen with whom he agreed and disagreed, and all of whom he wishes well.

“Probably my favorite mayor was Chester Woolfe,” he remembered. “Another good friend of mine that is still active in politics is Troy Welch. Troy pulled off things for Middlesboro that have lasting benefits; he was vital to the flood project and to the getting Southeast Community College here. I think I’ll always care for Troy for the good things that he did.”

Along with his business and community, Morgan’s family and church remain highly valued entities in his life. He has decided to leave his business to his niece, Suzeanne Rice, whose diligent work ethic reminds him of his grandmother and who, he hopes, will maintain the type of atmosphere he has maintained in the company.

“I look back on the kind of customer that I drew over the years. It was more of a trade among common people. I have my own accounts and still have a good business even during this recession,” Morgan said.

Morgan is dedicated to Hensley’s Chapel Baptist Church where he has been a member for several years.

“I believe more today in Jesus Christ as my personal savior than I ever did because He has rescued me several times,” he said.

Today, even in the midst of some serious health issues, Morgan remains in his store.

“The best therapy that I have found for myself was getting able to come back and be in my business. I‘ve been here for fifty years and have enjoyed every day— even the bad days.”

After more than half a century in Middlesboro, Dewey Morgan’s story has become a part of the history of the area. Likewise, the place he refers to as “a town of characters,” has become the backdrop for Morgan’s personal history.

“I see the ugly, and I see the beautiful,” said Dewey, “but if you put it all together, it creates a beautiful mosaic that is our town— which I dearly love.”

Lorie Settles is a correspondent for the Middlesboro Daily News. Contact her via e-mail at correspondent@middlesborodailynews.com.