RED BAY | When residents line the streets Friday afternoon for the annual homecoming parade, they’ll be celebrating not only their Tiger pride but also a man whose life has been dedicated to his hometown.
Longtime businessman Eucellis Underwood has been named this year’s Grand Marshal for the Red Bay Homecoming Parade. This year’s theme, “Tigers are Taking Care of Business,” couldn’t be more fitting for Underwood, who has been “taking care of business” in Red Bay for decades.
Born in 1932, Underwood grew up in Red Bay and was a member of the Red Bay High School Class of 1951. After high school, he joined the U.S. Navy, where he served four years. After his stint with the Navy, Eucellis settled in Atlanta, Ga., and was attending college when he was contacted by Omer J. Bullen to come back to Red Bay and be the bookkeeper for Sunshine Wholesale grocery. So, in 1959, Eucellis and his young family packed up and headed home.
That decision marked the beginning of a lifelong commitment not only to his family but to the business community of Red Bay. He married the former Sarah Ann McKinney and together, they had four children: Nancy, Phillip, Donald, and Mary.
After working at Sunshine Wholesale, Underwood and his father decided to open a small store front together, dividing the building into two separate sides and selling their goods. Before long, Eucellis was running the operation on his own when his father stepped away from the business.
In 1963, Underwood and Dexter Bostick opened a White Auto Store in Red Bay. The business expanded in 1964 to include Home Supply, owned by Oneal Oliver. The new business was named City Hardware. In 1969, Eucellis became the sole owner and franchise dealer for True Value Merchandise. In October of 1978, Eucellis Underwood’s City Hardware and Ethel and Lois A. Underwood’s Ben Franklin stores consolidated to become Underwood’s True Value Hardware Value and Savings Variety and moved to its location on Golden Road. Through hard work, dedication, and a steadfast love for his community, Underwood built a business that has become one of Red Bay’s oldest continually operated companies.
Over the decades, he’s witnessed firsthand the many changes that have shaped both Red Bay and the business world. Technology, he said, has been the biggest change.
Even with all the changes, one thing has remained constant – Underwood’s devotion to his community. Though he’s now well into his nineties, he still enjoys coming to the store, greeting familiar faces and meeting new ones. “My favorite thing to do is meet new people,” he said.
Being chosen as Grand Marshal, he says, is an honor he deeply appreciates.
“I’m very glad to be a citizen of Red Bay,” he said.
The Red Bay Homecoming Parade will roll through downtown this Friday, Oct. 10, beginning at 1 p.m.
