M
oving back to Nichols in 1971 after completing two years at Newberry College
to take over running his father’s business was no sacrifice; in fact, it was just the opposite.
“I always wanted to come back to the family business to work and live in Nichols,” he says,
in spite of admitting it isn’t always easy working with family members. “It’s always challenging to work with family because everyone has their own thought process about how
the business should be handled.” Nevertheless, he says he’s been lucky because they’ve
always managed to work things out.
So, like his father before him, Jimmy and his wife Sarah Anne decided to raise their own
family in Nichols. Raising children in a small community has proven to be a blessing for
the Devers. “People know and care for your children here,” he says. “They look out for
them, and let you know when they’re doing right or wrong.” Nichols has held on to the
feeling of freedom and safety that most towns lost long ago. “You can still let your children
ride their bikes all over town without worrying about them. They can really explore on
their own and learn about the outdoors and nature.”
Jimmy’s parents believed in hard work and giving back to the community. They were
deeply involved in community affairs like church and civic leadership. Working alongside
his father for so many years taught Jimmy the value of investing himself in his community.
As Sarah Anne shares, “Jimmy is always thinking about what he can do next - a new business venture or a great investment.” In fact, it was in Jimmy’s inability to quiet his business
sense and the importance of continuing to invest in his community that the idea for his
latest venture was born.
Starting Pure Bubba to express his love for rural community life is something that has
been in Jimmy’s heart for a long time. “Pure Bubba is a lifestyle,” says Jimmy. “It’s always been a lifestyle in small communities like Nichols in our country.” It embodies the
spirit of a man of integrity, courage and honesty. A man whose word is rock solid, whose
handshake is as binding as a legal document. A man who works hard because he knows
it’s right, who puts his family first, who has the backs of his friends and neighbors. “Being
a Bubba may be the best thing in the world,” Jimmy states on his website. “Bubba is who
has made America strong.”
The philosophy of Pure Bubba inspired Jimmy to open a store and museum in the heart
of his town. The museum features pieces of Nichols’ past that Jimmy himself has collected over the years, including farming equipment, kitchen utensils and cast iron stoves.
The store has everything from bait and tackle, to hats, to T-shirts emblazoned with Bubba
quotes like “There’s a little Bubba in all of us” and “Son of the South.” And that isn’t all.
Pure Bubba sells handmade wooden boxes for a variety of uses, and they currently have
18 handmade cypress strip boats that were made by the Lumbar River Boat Company (another brain child of Jimmy’s) before it went out of business in 1990. The boats were kept in
dry storage and have never been used. They’re beautiful and in perfect shape. Pure Bubba
can also connect buyers with farming machines like backhoes and Caterpillar dozers.
The people of Nichols have embraced Jimmy’s vision. “They’ve received Pure Bubba well,”
he says. “They love the ‘Honest to Goodness’ philosophy.” Jimmy invites people to
take pictures of themselves with items they’ve bought from the store and submit them
so he can post them on his website, and it’s already brimming with photos of people who
identify with Jimmy’s vision of small community life. *