Canton businessman leaves a legacy
Main Street in Canton was once the core of our community. Businesses and banks flanked each side of the street. It was where people went when they needed to make most any purchase. There was a possibility if you couldn’t find what you needed on Main Street, you didn’t need it.
Progress changed Main Street drastically. We still have a couple of businesses located there. Many specialty restaurants give patrons lots of options when it comes to eating out. But it’s no longer the hub of the community. The beautiful old family homes are almost exclusively filled with businesses. Primarily, law offices. It was once a town right out of a Thomas Kincaid painting. Though it has changed, that painting will continue to live in my mind and heart.
Death has taken a man who provided folks a place to shop for decades. With the passing of Bud Chambers this week, Canton has suffered a loss. You see, there have been several families who have helped shape our town in one way or another. Mr. Chambers stands out among them all for one reason. He conducted his business in his quiet and gentle nature without needing to be recognized. He loved the people more than the profits.
Bud and his late wife Sylvia opened a Western Auto store on Main Street in 1974. It would eventually merge into a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. By 1983, the business evolved into a home furnishings and gift store named the Chamberhouse. While the Chamberhouse is still in business today on Main Street, it operates without the presence of Bud and Sylvia Chambers.
For my entire life, I remember Mrs. Chambers as a picture of grace and class. She carried herself in a manner everyone admired. I never saw her when she wasn’t dressed to the nines. Much like her husband, there was a kindness about her one couldn’t help but notice. I took the time to do the math and discovered she didn’t retire until 2016 at the age of 82. So many people can’t wait for retirement. Mrs. Chambers held out as long as she could. It wasn’t about the money. She too loved the people.
Mr. Chambers had an equal work ethic. He worked as long as he could. Not for the money. For the love of serving his hometown. It is quite possible he inherited this work ethic from his late father, Wallace Chambers. Wallace owned a plumbing business just off Main Street for many years. I spent hours playing in his plumbing store as a child. It was a family business. And if you knew the Chambers family, they treated you like family. This is a lost trait in today’s world.
The last time I had the privilege of speaking with Mr. Chambers was in a local store. It was after work, and I was tired. But he was a man I respected and a man I wouldn’t ignore. He led the conversation. Not once did he talk about himself. Every question and comment was directed toward the subject of me and my family. It was classic Bud Chambers. Putting the interest of others before his own.
Chasing a dollar is commonplace in today’s world. Everyone is trying to bank as much money as they possibly can. Some succeed and some fail. Bud and Sylvia Chambers succeeded. Not because they were chasing the dollar. They succeeded because they loved the people who shopped in their stores. They loved the town they called home. And they would take the time to stop and have a conversation if someone was inclined to do some talking. That qualifies as real success. It wasn’t just business they succeeded in. Mr. and Mrs. Chambers succeeded in life.
Mr. and Mrs. Chambers were God-fearing people. They left a legacy for their three children. I’m not talking about the business. It’s still there and may be for years to come. What they left was far greater than anything money can buy. They left an example of walking a Christian life. It’s a lesson, not only for their children, but for all of us. Following the example of Mr. and Mrs. Chambers may not make any of us a successful business owner. But it will make us better people.
Many folks think they know exactly what happens when we die. I don’t. So, I say this, not as doctrine, but as comfort. Bud Chambers lived a good life. He experienced a lot of happiness. None of it compares to the joy he knows now. He’s reunited with the one he loved. Both resting safely in the hands of God.