where the boys are I feature story
Story by Melia Flowers • Photographed by David Childers
Jimmy Devers
embracing the Pure Bubba Life
W
hen people ask me where I am from, for a moment
I always wonder if my answer is going to provoke a deer-stuck-inthe-headlights response or if they have actually heard of the town of
Nichols, South Carolina. More often than not I am asked, “Where
is Nichols?” Then, before I can reply, the light comes on and they
say, “Oh, that little town on the way to the beach from Hwy 9!” I
laugh, understanding that if you were not familiar with the little
town, it is easily overlooked. Oh, but how looks can be deceiving. Remember the old saying, “Great things often come in small
packages”?
Lifelong Nichols native Jimmy Devers is one of those men who
makes everyone feel comfortable in his presence. You know
that type, the person who really seems to listen to what you are
saying and is genuinely interested in your story and the world
around him. As a small town girl and Nichols native myself, I
have wanted to feature Jimmy for quite some time in She Magazine. In fact, each year when the preparation for the annual man
issue begins, I have th ought of Jimmy but neglected to call him
for fear that he would decline out of sheer humility. This year, I
decided to enlist Sarah Anne to help me convince her husband
that sharing his story in She would be an inspiration to other
men, especially other “Bubbas.” Maybe my being a Nichols girl
helped to seal the deal, who knows? The important thing is Jimmy agreed, and I am so excited to share this small town treasure
with She readers in the Pee Dee (in print) and all across the United States and abroad (via our online magazine).
Jimmy’s father, James Milton Devers, Jr., married Sarah Nichols (whose family the town is named after) in 1946. Originally
a glider -pilot instructor at what was then the Army Air Corps in
Laurinburg, NC, Mr. Devers, at the suggestion of his in-laws, relocated to Nichols and opened the store that eventually became
a landmark to the community, Nichols Farm Supply. He and his
wife earned a good living and raised four children together.
Putting down roots in Nichols, or remaining there, was an
easy decision for young Jimmy. In 1970, while still in college, he
eloped with Sarah Anne Bethea. The couple began their married
life much as Jimmy’s parents had- with Jimmy returning to the
Farm Supply where he began in his dad’s footsteps at the age
of ten. Jimmy can still remember being barefoot and feeding
chicks and sweeping the floors while listening to the farm families who came in to buy hardware, groceries and seeds.
Choosing to put down roots and raise a family in Nichols might
seem strange to some. It’s a tiny farming town in the northeastern part of our state, bracketed by two black water rivers, the
Lumber and the Pee Dee. Nichols is a “don’t blink or you’ll miss
it” sort of town, one many racing through while taking the
back roads to North Myrtle Beach without giving it a second
thought. But, to the people who live there, Nichols is a special
place. “I love the simplicity,” Jimmy says. “There’s no rat race. It’s
the best of all worlds: we have our basic needs, a loving community and places to roam, such as the farm land, rivers, swamps
and the coast nearby.”
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June 2014
shemagazine.com