Third Generation Owner Re-Opens, Expands Service of Balls Creek Home and Garden

For Immediate Release 

Contact: Renee R. Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, Phone: (828) 758-2383, Pager 800-471-1323, or E-mail:  Renee Whitener

Balls Creek, North Carolina (February 20, 2003) – Across from Balls Creek Elementary School, you’ll find a place you can step back into time and into the future all at once.

Reminiscent of Mayberry RFD’s country store, Balls Creek Farm and Garden has been offering local folks hardware, feed and seed—and soda pop—since the early 1950s when Dorsey Caldwell first opened the  Keith Caldwell, left, store near the family’s home. Through the 1980s    and Marvin Goodson
his son, Steven Caldwell, was in charge. Today,  
you’ll still be greeted like an old friend from Mayberry when you walk into Balls Creek Farm and Garden, but a quick tour with new family owner Keith Caldwell shows you how much more the store now offers to local homeowners in this community.

The grandson of founder Dorsey Caldwell, Keith re-opened the store and expanded the product and service line this season to include a propane filling station convenient for filling cylinders for everything from home grills to fork lifts, campers, and RVs.

“You’ll pay a lot less for propane cylinder refills than you will for a cylinder exchange program, and that’s something we believed folks in this end of the county could benefit from,” Keith explained.

Balls Creek Farm and Garden also sells propane appliances such as products by Buck Stove, Rinnai, and Martin gas logs. “We partner with our propane gas and appliance provider, Blue Ridge Energies, to order and install appliances for customers if they want this service,” explained Caldwell. “They have certified installation experts who can pipe and install any appliance or tank.”

Caldwell expanded into propane after wanting to further diversify another service he added at Balls Creek Home and Garden: landscape design, services, and products. The Bandy’s High School graduate is enrolled in Catawba Valley Community College’s (CVCC) horticulture program and is one test away from becoming a state certified Plant Professional.

Much of his time now is spent on landscape design consultation, an area his drafting studies at CVCC have helped him perfect. “Most people around here like to work in their yards, but they want a design plan and the advice of what types of plants and trees will work best for their particular situation,” Caldwell said. “I feel like design consultation is one I can really be of help to people,” he said, adding that he can provide the entire range of landscaping services when customers request: landscape plan design, plant selection, and planting.

The store, which is located a mile off of Hwy. 16 at 2607 Balls Creek Road, also carries bulk and bagged supplies of fertilizers for home and farming use, soil amendments, and lawn and garden chemicals.
 
Assisting with store operations and adding to the Mayberry hospitality is a gentleman who’s been associated with Balls Creek Home and Garden for many years: Marvin Goodson. Retired from Mid-State Flour Mills, Goodson continues to farm and haul fertilizer with Caldwell’s father as well as work at Balls Creek Home and Garden five to six days a week. Caldwell calls Goodson a “standard fixture” at Balls Creek Home and Garden. “He’s here nearly every day, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.,” Caldwell said.

“I think my grandparents would be happy that I’ve re-opened the store and that business is going well, and especially that we’ve been able to keep the same general atmosphere,” Caldwell said. “This was a very special place for my family and I hope we can continue to serve this community for many years to come.”


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