A steady stream of more than 500 customers stopped by the Petite Shop during its 70th Anniversary Celebration. Longtime shoppers popped in for some retail therapy and reminiscing on a day filled with stories of the shop and its owners. Dick and Evelyn Bireley built the business from the ground up, leaving a legacy for future generations.
Next, their daughter Dede Ashby ran it with her then-husband Jim Higdon, who passed away last November. The family-run business is now in the good hands of the third generation, Laurie Connelly and Trey Higdon. Connelly said she enjoyed hearing all the fond remembrances of her father, who would entertain the ladies coming to the shop with his humor, saying, “People came in for him as much as to purchase stuff.”
Photos provided
