Dave Soper’s Store

I received the following story from John Lynch. John is the historian of Fayetteville and I always enjoy his remembrances of the past.

I remember Mr. Dave Soper and his Economy Auto Store on the square in Fayetteville. Mr. Soper was also the County Surveyor but I don't think he had much to do in that job. Anyway the most memorable thing about his store was the "toyland" that was upstairs in a small loft at the front of the store. There were so many nice toys in there for small kids like me and my brothers to look at just before Christmas. It seems to me that Mr. Soper was always talking and usually had an audience listening to him and laughing at his stories. I remember one day going in the store and seeing a calendar on the wall (can't remember the year but it was in the mid 50's). The calendar had a picture at the top with some monkeys dressed up in clothes playing golf. Mr. Soper had inked in big letters "Ike" with an arrow pointing to one of the monkeys. I knew he was referencing Eisenhower the president and couldn't believe that anyone would do that. I worried all the way home about the president finding out about the calendar and sending some "G-men" down from Washington to arrest Mr. Soper. Considering how they mock the president today, it doesn't seem like such a bad infraction at the time. John Lynch

Mr. Duffey who owned the drive-in theater on Georgia Highway 85 also ran a small theatre on the Courthouse Square which later became Soper’s Economy Auto Store.

The small loft at the front of the store mentioned in John’s story was the balcony of that theatre. It was reserved for blacks only. This was before public facilities were integrated.