NEVADA - Ozarks towns and history are really living art created by the stories of people’s lives, all puzzle-pieced together in a beautiful picture.
I saw another example of this on recent a trip to Nevada — the Missouri town, not the state, and the seat of Vernon County. While perusing the square, I saw a store’s large glass windows covered with brightly colored “retirement” signs. Turns out, it was Davison’s Shoes, a local shoe stop for nearly 65 years.
The scene was a synonym for story if I ever saw one.
My ears were greeted by soft classical music as I pushed open the glass doors, and saw plush red carpeting and tile floors — details that spoke of a different time, when people shopped at dedicated shoe stores more often. It reminded me of when, as a child, my mom would take me to the Plaza Shoe Store in Springfield for a once-a-year pair of shoes before school began.
I also found Betty Davison, one of the owners of Davison’s Shoes. She and her husband, Marvin, began the business in 1958.
Back when the story was just starting, and it was the only store they owned.
Eventually, it would be only one of more than 90 stores they operated.
Today, it’s the only location that remains.
And soon, it will go from one to none.
“I want to enjoy the time we have left,” says Betty.
Her eyes that scan the store today are the same that saw it at 18, when she and her new husband (older, all of 19) opened the shoe store in Nevada. It wasn’t in the same location they are today, but still in town, and closer in physical distance than years to where they are now.
Nevada was a considerable distance from their home. I say that singularly, as she tells me they both came from Dallas County and didn’t know a time when they didn’t know each other.
“Our parents were farmers,” says Betty. “I said we met on our mothers’ knees at church.”
They were graduated from Buffalo High School, and developed in different ways: Betty spent time at Draughon Business College, a once well-known institution in Springfield, and Marvin went to work at Fort Leonard Wood.
“He did work for servicemen who needed adjustments to their boots,” says Betty.
That experience led him to a part-time job in a Waynesville shoe store, where he was sold on selling. The couple made the move to Nevada for that first store, after they heard a building was available that they might rent.
Those days, in the late 1950s, looked different.
“The women always had to have a purse that matched their shoes,” says Betty, and mentions how much folks would pay to be in style: “Our highest-priced lady’s shoe was $5.99. That seems ridiculous now.”
Davisons oversaw more than 90 stores at height of business
The square was a hub back then, with enough business to support numerous shoe stores. “In 1958, of course, the stores were always busy — on Saturday, especially, which is the opposite of now,” recalls Betty.
It also allowed the Davisons to focus on a niche opportunity: Rather than being the cheapest, they quickly shifted their focus to being the best. It was a goal also accentuated by Marvin’s love of choosing the latest styles to sell.
“We’ve always tried to carry better brands than cheap ones,” she says.
A portion of the store’s remaining inventory, which includes both women’s and men’s options. (Photo by Kaitlyn McConnell)
That approach led them to rapid growth. By 1965, they had six stores, says one newspaper article. Another from 1970 mentions the Davisons had grown to 22 locations. And just three years later, they had increased by another 50-or-so percent, mentioned a Kansas City Star article.
“Since beginning his own shoe store 15 years ago in Nevada, Davison has expanded his business to 34 stores in Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and Kansas,” proclaimed the paper’s page.
That growth continued: At its height, the Davisons oversaw more than 90 stores for shoes, apparel and sporting goods, which Betty notes extended through Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois.
“We would buy stores out,” she says. “Sometimes we’d keep their names, if they had a good one. And if they didn’t, we’d change it.”
Closing doors for good
Today, like they began, the Nevada stop is the only one left — and in late 2021, they announced that the final business would be closing its doors.
The Davisons made the decision after Marvin experienced some health challenges in recent months, Betty says, prompting them to decide that the time had come to close up shop. The couple has three sons, but their parents had no expectation that they would take over the business.
“We never pushed them to do shoes,” she says. “They each enjoy what they’re doing and are very successful, so that’s what we want.”
Besides, shopping habits have changed since they sold their first shoes in 1958.
“A lot of people buy over the internet,” says Betty. “I think the reason we’ve been here so long is there’s just no other shoe store within several miles. Locally owned, I mean.”
It’s unknown exactly when their last day will be, but the Davisons hope to wind things down quickly, and are open to selling their remaining inventory in bulk to an interested buyer.
Part of that also includes that of Vernco Sporting Goods, another venture of the Davisons which is operated in the same space. That store, which sells sports equipment, clothing, letter jackets and the like, was originally housed elsewhere. However, when a fire destroyed its location several years ago, the couple decided to combine it and the shoes in the same storefront.
As days wind down for the legacy that has been so significant in their lives, Betty reflects on things she liked best, which went beyond selling shoes.
“Meeting the people,” says Betty of what she will feel most significantly once they close. “And I know it’s what my husband will miss the most. He’s always been a people-person.”
It’s history that will soon write its last word, leaving the Davisons savoring moments from the past.
“When he would go to Lebanon as a child, he was fascinated by the businesses,” says Betty. “He told his mother when he was little that he was going to own a business.
“He loved every minute of it.”
I push open those glass doors and head outside, grateful that through this unexpected conversation fate had in store, I was reminded that dreams do come true.
