Published Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Hutchinsons grand marshals for Turin parade on Saturday
The Times-Herald
August in Turin in southeast Coweta County is almost synonymous with tractors.
Preparations are in full swing for the 14th annual Turin Antique Tractor Show and Pull, which kicks off with a parade of the antique farm power machines Saturday morning.
The parade features all kinds of antique tractors, from fully restored models to farm workhorses; and the day's events feature an old-fashioned tractor pull, plus a pedal tractor race for the kids and a "slow race."
The night before, there will be the annual street dance in downtown Turin, starting at 8 p.m. This year there will be a live band, and local Boy Scouts will be selling hot-dogs, hamburgers and drinks.
The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday and goes through downtown Turin to the pull site on Will Banks Road.
Parade participation is free, and there is a fee for each "pull."
After the parade, spectators can get up close and personal with the tractors.
There will also be plenty of food, T-shirts and commemorative hats. Proceeds from the sales of food and merchandise go toward the expenses of the event.
Riding at the head of the parade this year as grand marshals will be Jimmy and Jane Hutchinson and their family.
Jimmy Hutchinson owned and operated Hutchinson Hardware in nearby Senoia since he was in college. The couple retired and closed the store almost two years ago.
"They are certainly leaders in the community," said Bill Banks, president of the Turin Antique Tractor Association. "We're just glad to have them this year and are looking forward to them being there."
Over the years, antique tractor owners made many pilgrimages to Hutchinson Hardware, located on Senoia's Main Street.
"We used to sell them a lot of bolts and different things to work on their equipment with," said Jimmy Hutchinson, relaxing at his home in Senoia's historic district.
Jimmy said he can remember getting calls at night from organizers, working on equipment for the pull. "They'd say we need this that or the other, would you meet us up town?" And he would.
"All of these people that are in charge of it and work on it have done business with me for 50 years," Jimmy said.
"And they've been our friends for a long time," Jane said.
"We think it is quite an honor that they asked us," said Jimmy. "We really appreciate it."
Since the store closed two years ago, the Hutchinsons haven't been able to enjoy all the things they had hoped to in retirement, because of Jimmy's health.
But things seem to be looking up on that front.
"He's been in the hospital every month this year, just about," Jane said. "So we are counting on his health getting better, and then we're counting on wanting to do some things."
"I'm doing better now," Jimmy said.
Even without the travel, though, "we've enjoyed being out of business," Jimmy said.
"It's nice to be able to sleep late," said Jane.
Some folks still look to Jimmy Hutchinson to find what they need. The day before this interview, Jimmy said, a man knocked on their door "and had a little thing in his hand and wanted to know where he could get it," Jimmy said. "He used to get it from me. He said he couldn't get it at Home Depot anymore."
After a chat, the long-time customer left with a list of different stores to check. A few days earlier, a former customer had called trying to find out where she could get "that kind of rat poison I used to buy," Jane said.
Jimmy is also glad he is out of business because of the current state of the economy. "We had geared our business up for the homebuilder. They're just not doing the business like they were," he said.
That's not to say that the Hutchinsons don't miss their hardware store. Because they certainly do. And Senoians miss them.
"People tell us 'we miss y'all so much,'" said Jane.
"I miss seeing our friends," said Jimmy.
"It's one of the funniest things... I can't quit dreaming about the store," Jimmy said. "I'll dream that my son and I are waiting on people, getting up a plumbing order or doing something," he said. When he wakes up and finds it was all a dream, "I said well good, thank goodness. It's time to move on," he said.
Jimmy said he was recently talking to Rochelle Norred, who, along with her husband Hershall, owned and operated Newnan Pawn Shop. "She said she dreamed about it every night," Jimmy said.
The Hutchinsons are very pleased at what has happened to their old store.
They sold the rambling building to John Barrow, who divided it up into several shops and changed the trademark blue to a soothing tan.
"It's wonderful. It just does my heart good," Jimmy said of the work Barrow has done on the old store. "I told somebody that I had a dream that that would happen one day," he said. "He's done a wonderful job with it. John has done an outstanding job with that building."
Jimmy said that Barrow took all of the old flooring and repaired it, and restored the paneling too. "It looks nice, it really does," Jimmy said.
"When we ride by, people say 'are you sorry you're not up there?' And we say 'no,'" said Jane. "We're just glad that we were there for the time we were, and now we're glad that we're not."
Jimmy also had dreams that "I would be able to spend time with my wife and we'd be able to do things, with my family, with my grandchildren, to see them in different school activities, and I've been able to do that."
Running the store six days a week meant it was hard to get to enjoy other activities.
"We're glad we've got time that we don't have to say 'well, we've got to get back to the store,'" Jimmy said. It's nice to not have to say "we can't do this or do that," he said.
"There was a long time when we couldn't get to anything on time on a Saturday night, or any night. We couldn't go and do something, because we'd have to get through here at the store, first," Jane said.
Jimmy's never gotten to see the tractor parade or pull because, well, he always had to work.
Retirement has been ever sweeter now that the Hutchinsons' daughter, Beth, and her husband and two boys have moved to Newnan from Virginia.
Jimmy said Beth's husband, Woody, had talked about moving to Georgia before. He often had to fly in and out of Heartsfiled-Jackson Airport. But he's an only child and Jimmy said he would never want to take him, and the grandsons, away from Woody's parents.
"We couldn't believe when they told us they were going to move to Newnan and build them a home," Jimmy said.
Beth, Woodie, Hutch, 7, and Willis, 5, moved to Newnan last August. They joined Jim and his wife Melissa and son, Jay. Everyone will be on the float in the parade.
Hutch and Willis are looking forward to being in the parade. They number one reason? Why candy, of course. "When I'm throwing candy," said Hutch, "I'm just going to throw a few pieces and save some for me!"