 Times Have Changed, But NOT the Commitment to Quality and Prices This article was written for D.T. McCall & Sons Inc.'s Centennial Celebration in 1996For Albert McCall it was the natural thing to do to settle down at a dinette table in the middle of his showroom floor to talk about the history of D.T. McCall & Sons, his own life, and his philosophies on both. With 1996 marking the 100th anniversary of the family business, it seemed an ideal occasion for Albert to reminisce and be mindful of the future. He came from a large family of nine children, and it somehow fell to Albert to be the one to spend summers helping in the general store his grandparents, Albert and Icie McCall, began in 1896 in Flat Rock (just inside the eastern border of Wilson County, Tennessee). "It was a great learning opportunity," says Albert of those approximately eight summers helping to sell groceries, horse collars, and wood stoves. "I met a lot of people and learned good, basic work ethics and important values."
Young Albert began making mental notes on the ways his family gained customer trust and anticipated consumer needs. His father, D.T. McCall, had already established himself in his own right as a premier salesman, having begun his own small business using his "peddling wagon" to go house-to-house, buying and selling produce and other goods throughout Smith County. He accepted sales jobs with grain and feed companies until the late 1930s, when he bought a corner lot on the town square in Carthage and began selling electrical appliances.In the late 1950s, Albert entered Cookeville's Tennessee Tech. He joined the National Guard which led him to Iowa State University, where he met his wife of forty years, the former Virginia Doran, (niece of Norman Erby, then governor of Iowa). He also attended the University of Missouri and earned his Bachelor of Science and master's Degrees in Biochemistry/Agriculture. At one point he was a full-time student during the day at ISU, while teaching at night for the Veteran's Administration. The Korean War was in full swing and Albert's Officers Reserve was called and he spent two years overseas. When he returned, it was as a disabled veteran who was unsure about his future. "We needed time to think," says Albert. "I had job opportunities but nothing seemed to interest me." So he and Virginia boarded a ship in Quebec, Canada, and sailed to England. They spent the summer of 1955 traveling Europe, away from the influences of family, school, and work. It was on this trip that Albert made the decision to go home to Tennessee and buy into his father's appliance/plumbing business.Next: "I've always been able to see opportunities and grasp them." |
