From High School Job To Legacy

By Audrey Lewis Farrar

As an Owen County native, someone acquainted with a slow-paced, rural lifestyle, there were a few things I realized I had never done before as I became an adult and ventured a little further out into the world. For example, until I went off to college, I had never driven through a roundabout, tasted an avocado, or bought Carhartt from anywhere except Tackett’s Menswear.

For that matter, I had never had a man in my life who had outfitted himself for any significant occasion—be it his first prom, his wedding, or the loss of a loved one—from anywhere besides Tackett’s. I remember at age 6 going with my mom to pick out my dad’s shirt for a Christmas party. I remember, at 11, going to get fitted for a belt for one of my birthday presents. I remember, at 21, my dad decided to buy my brother—who was surely done hitting growth spurts—a suit to wear to my grandfather’s funeral. I also remember my confusion when my senior prom date, now my husband, asked me where we should go to pick out his tux—as if there were more than one answer I might give.

Though he was unsure of exactly when the store first opened under its original name, R.L. Vallandigham and Company, Larry Tackett, owner, and operator of the store we now call Tackett’s Menswear, knew it was in the 1920s. I joked that he’s nearing or may have missed a hard-earned 100-year celebration. Over the past century, the store changed hands from its founder, Bob Vallandingham, to two faithful employees, H.T. Riley and Joe Sanford, who partnered to purchase the business in 1954. By 1958, after the store had shuffled partners, Riley bought the other half of the business from Bud Stamper and became sole owner. This same year, Larry entered the picture, working in the store from 1958 to 1961 while still in high school.

After graduating, Larry moved on to other ventures—got married, had children—but eventually returned to the business to work for Riley in 1969. Larry remained an employee of Riley’s until 1974 when he became a partner. In 1981, Larry took the leap of purchasing the business for himself.

Although not the store's founder, Larry has been its most longstanding affiliate. He recalls all that has changed, such as branching from strictly dress clothes to adding work and outdoor attire or how credit cards revolutionized shopping. However, anyone who walks in can feel the history and know that much has been left the same, like the location that has always been home to the business. Isn’t it something to think that you can shop for a pair of shoes at the same place and business where a relative, long since passed, may have done the same?

As I spoke with Larry, I wondered about the impression you have to leave on someone for them to entrust you with everything they spent their life building—seeing how the change of ownership was always to pass it down to those who had served it most loyally. Undoubtedly, “loyal” is a word to describe Larry. As a small business owner, he doesn’t just take care of the “big stuff” and hire others to run the day-to-day. He doesn’t collect paid time off for when a vacation is desired or time away to tend to family matters. One of the biggest challenges Larry emphasized to me is that he also doesn’t receive employer-sponsored health insurance benefits.

Alongside the challenges, you also have to find exceptional pride and joy in your work to run a business successfully. Larry and his son, Tommy, who now helps him run the store, recall their “inventory parties” as some fun times when they joked they might not have always been on their best behavior, but they still got the work done.

Many define a business’s success based on a spreadsheet of numbers and dollar signs, or how many times they’ve multiplied and if they are now considered a chain location. They may even inquire about accolades and look for plaques with titles like “fastest growing” or “most popular.” But when Larry showed me framed pictures of his store’s heritage when he told me how he was prepared to retire when his son stepped up to help him, recognizing what a shame it would have been for their small town to lose one of its few businesses—the success he had honed during his years spent serving his store and community was never more apparent.

There is something to be said about someone who goes to work every day without knowing how much or if they will earn an income that day. Someone who is not just the cashier, the stock boy, the manager, or a customer representative—but all of that and more, all at the same time. Someone who has to take pride in his presence, his inventory, his ads, and his building. Someone who turned his high school job into his own business, career, a legacy for his family, and a staple in his community. Larry Tackett has accomplished this and more throughout his 67 years affiliated with the store we now call Tackett’s Menswear.

So, the next time you find yourself shopping for a special occasion, needing a new pair of boots, or wanting to take a peek at a place of rich history, tenacity, and genuine passion, stop by and see Larry—I assure you, he’ll be glad to greet you.