Forty-four years ago R.C. Speights states he returned to Jeff Davis County to open a building supply store in Prentiss with $5,000 and a Buick car as collateral. A lot has changed since then but Speights Cash & Carry has remained a stable part of the local economy.

Speights built the business from the ground up utilizing his experience running a branch of the Evans Products Company in Shreveport, Louisiana and Vancouver Plywood in Thomasville, Georgia, producers and manufacturers of prefinished plywood paneling that was so popular during that building era.

A 1958 graduate of Bassfield, Speights felt the need to come home to the county when his father was diagnosed with cancer. He moved his wife and two daughters home and added another daughter to the family after the move. The business helped supply homes to many other families and Speights states during his house-building years he would have as many as fifty homes in progress at a time.

“At that time pre-finished paneling was $4.99 a sheet and paint was $9.99 a gallon, and the first truckload of roofing I purchased was $5 a square,” states Speights.

The economy has changed considerably since then and so have prices but Speights Cash & Carry has continued to serve the area for its building and construction needs.

“The business has always been stable,” states Speights. “We are not doing the house-building ourselves any more but we do a lot of walk-in retail and keep a good inventory of hardware, paints and floor covering, and are competitive in price with the retail stores so we still furnish the supplies for a lot of the building that goes on in the county and surrounding areas. We stock everything from ground-up construction to doormats so we have anything you need to construct or remodel your home.”

Speights Cash & Carry has always been a family business and Speights states the girls Kim, Van and Carla and their spouses as well as his wife Tommie have worked there. Many high school young men of the area have found employment as well. At this time there are fourteen employees and the business has expanded to a second building. At 74 R. C. Speights says he has no plans of retiring.

“I just want to thank the people of the area for their business over the years and the confidence they have put in us,” states Speights. “We try to abide by our own rules and that is to do everybody right.”

Business hours are: 7-5 Monday-Friday and 7:30-12 noon on Saturday.

Phone:601-792-4251