YOUR
STORIES
Over
the years we have received many letters of thanks and appreciation for
our furniture. So we have decided to post some of our favorites on our
website for everyone to enjoy. At the end of the page you'll have a
chance to tell us your story. We hope you enjoy these testimonial's,
we know we have.
October
10, 1990 --
Dear
Mr. Davis:
I
do not have any Lillian Russell furniture, however, I do have lots of
memories and an old photograph which was made on the porch that faced
the office. My Dad worked at Davis Cabinet Co. from the earliest that
I can remember until his death. I'm almost sure it was the only job
he ever had after he moved to Nashville.
We
lived on South Fifth St. in the house that is still standing between
Davidson St. and Crutcher St. at that time, we rented all that property
between the streets and had a farm complete with cows and pigs. I can
remember listening for the whistle to blow so Daddy would come home
for lunch. I started to school at Warner and walked to school even as
a first grader, however, my mother walked to school with us every day.
We would always walk by the factory slowly so Daddy would see us from
his second floor window and wave to us. Sometimes if we were lucky,
he would be pushing some furniture across the tramway, which is what
they called the connector between the two buildings. As I think about
it, I can almost smell the varnish and lacquer smells that emitted from
the big exhaust pipes.
During
World War II, as you were making gun stocks, my Dad died of a heart
attack in January 1946 at the age of 42.
I
still have a chair from my childhood furniture which was patterned after
a ship with headboard being the ships wheel and foot being the ship's
rail. The bottom of the chest represented the ships captains chest with
the chair representing the lantern. The other pieces have been refinished,
but the chair is the original finish.
Sincerely,
Mildred Childress Holmes
October
23, 1990 --
Dear
Mr. Davis:
I
own a Lillian Russell Dresser with mirror and standard, and a chest.
My
father, Ernest B. Walton, President Guaranty Title Company, office at
corner of Third and Union bought these pieces about 1938 from his neighbor,
Payne Furniture Companies, down the street on Third Ave. On the back
of the chest a sticker. "Davis Cabinet Co. Makers of Good Furniture,
Nashville, Tennessee 2327. Aged Walnut.
I
have enjoyed using these pieces for many years, and they are still beautiful.
Sincerely,
Sue Walton Cheery
October
23, 1990 --
Dear
Mr. Davis:
My
grandparents, Ray and Perl Conner, traveled from Shelbyville to Nashville
in 1943 to purchase a Lillian Russell bedroom set for my mother, Jane,
as a high school graduation present. They bought a cherry vanity, chest,
double poster bed, bench, and a dining room table and four chairs for
$32 credit.
My
Grandmother hated to buy something on "time," but wanted to
get the furniture for my mother. She said the $16 monthly payment nearly
worried her to death until they got it paid off.
The
furniture stayed in my Grandmother's house after my Grand father died.
I can remember going their to visit, and playing make believe games
on the "big bed." Because of the tall, sturdy bed posts, and
the graceful curves of wood in the headboard, it was easy to pretend
the bed belonged to a queen.
Last
year when my Grandmother and Mother moved into Trevecca Towers in Nashville,
they moved the chest of drawers in with them. The rest of the bedroom
set was too big for their apartment. So we moved it into our guest bedroom,
where my Mother and Grandmother use it during their visits. Everyone
who visits our home says something about the bedroom set. I guess we're
all so accustomed to seeing veneers and compressed wood pulp in furniture
that solid cherry furniture of such fine craftsmanship is truly distinctive.
But that doesn't mean this furniture can't take day-to-day living. My
two daughters have continued the family tradition of playing make believe
on Grandmother's "big bed."
I
found the original receipt for the furniture when I was cleaning out
the night stand drawer. It didn't really surprise me to find the receipt,
because my Grandmother saves everything. I just couldn't believe that
those five pieces of furniture cost less in 1943 than a single night
stand cost today!
Sincerely,
Carol Byrd
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Davis Cabinet Company. All Rights Reserved.