On a recent day at Landers Station in Pineville, customers came and went, stopping by to visit or to ask if they could help with the final cleanup of the now-closed business.
This is what comes from six decades of treating people right.
Junior Landers was only 17 when he started working nights and weekends at the station -- a business venture of his parents, Oliver and Jewell Landers -- in 1954. After graduating high school, working at the station became Landers' full-time job throughout his adult life. The station was extremely busy in its early years.
"For three years we worked seven days a week -- Thanksgiving, Christmas. It aged me a bunch," Landers said.
The full-service station changed tires, did mechanic work, and even had wrecker and gas delivery services over the years.
Pineville residents remember going there as children because they always received a sucker or bubble gum.
Somewhere between the bubble gum and all the times he helped someone who was down on their luck, Landers earned a reputation for treating people right. Some of his friends stood outside on the aforementioned day speculating how many thousands of dollars of debt Landers had never collected simply because he was trying to help someone out.
"He's one of the best-liked people in this county," Pineville native Gary Sherman said. "You'll have to go a long way to find somebody who has anything bad to say about Junior Landers, I promise you that."
Sherman said one example of Landers' generosity is a story about a lady with a baby who pulled into the station with a failing tire. The metal was exposed, and, unwilling to let her drive it that way with a baby in the vehicle, Landers gave her a new tire. The woman returned when she had some money and paid for the tire, Sherman said.
Landers' sister-in-law, Shirley Landers, said her brother-in-law and his parents were very hardworking and honest people who would go the extra mile for anyone.
"He's been very tenderhearted to lots of people who were down and out," she said.
Fortunately, Landers' goodwill has earned him plenty of friends who are willing to help him during hard times. While fighting cancer recently, Landers had to be hospitalized and was unable to work. Several of his friends took turns running the business until he was well enough to return.
When Landers got ready to sell the property, Sherman stepped forward with a plan.
"He was an important part of this town for a long time," Sherman said. "He wanted to sell it, and I didn't want a stranger to buy it. I thought someone from Pineville needed to buy it."
Sherman plans to open a barbecue restaurant on the site. He's named it Junior's Smokehouse. He said he will give Landers a key to the new locks and hopes he will come open up every day.
"He'll still be here six days a week is my hope," Sherman said.
Looking back over his years at the station, Landers reflected, "I've walked a million miles. I've enjoyed it. You've got to make a living."
Asked what he plans to do in retirement, he joked, "I'm running for president," provoking peals of laughter from those nearby. Then, more seriously, "I've got enough work at home to keep me busy for two or three years."
He said his wife, Kay, is retiring from the bank in December, and he plans to stay near home.
"I used to want to run around and never could. I don't want a vacation. I like it right here," he said.
After taking time to visit with a new acquaintance, Landers stood in the doorway of the business, offering a wave and his customary salutation to every departing visitor.
"Come back," he said.
General News on 11/12/2015