Retired teacher opens downtown shop
Kathy Rodgers’ Byler Station Gift Exchange features a variety of artistic creations.
By Alison James
alison.james@fct.wpengine.com
Kathy Rodgers spent 20 years teaching American History to Haleyville eleventh graders. But before that, she was a small business owner. Now she has returned to the profession, with the opening of a new business, Byler Station Gift Exchange, in downtown Russellville.
“I’m not retiring to stay home,” was what Rodgers told folks as she left the world of teaching. “I retired on a Friday. By the next Tuesday, I had bought a violin. The next day I bought two miniature horses – I have never owned a horse in my life. Forty-two days later, she had a colt. And the next week we were in the store.”
Rodgers laughs when she thinks about how quickly her retirement was given over to new hobbies and a new business.
“I told a friend, ‘If I buy anything else, y’all lock me up,’” Rodgers said. “But life is to enjoy. So that’s what I like to do. It’s nice to be out in the sunshine and the fresh air and do things I enjoy doing.” But she’s quick to add, “That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy teaching. I loved every minute of it.”
Byler Station Gift Exchange is located at 114A Jackson Ave. The shop was born out of opportunity: one of Rodgers’ daughters does monogramming, and when one monogramming supplier decided to sell out, a readily-available starting inventory became the catalyst to find a location and get the doors open.
Rodgers sees her store as offering the opportunity to “give local artists and craftsmen a place to promote their (creations).” The shop offers everything from custom monogramming and custom plaques and vinyl cuts to jewelry and refinished furniture, with Rodgers’ four daughters – Abby Rodgers, Tonya Pace, Anna Firestone and Jeanna Rodgers – all involved in either creating merchandise or helping to run the store
Rodgers loves the storefront interior – it’s nicer, she said, than her previous shops.
“When I saw these floors, I thought, ‘No dip at the door. No carpet. Yes!’” she said with a laugh. “This building is in excellent shape.”
The store is named after the road they live on, which also happens to be the oldest road in continual use since Alabama became a state, and, “A lady told me that right across from our house, a hundred years ago or more, that was actually a switching station where people would rest their horses or get provisions,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers said she hopes the store meets a need in Russellville, which was her goal with her first shop, a Christian bookstore.
“I thought, ‘You can get anything you want in our town, but if you wanted a good quality book, you would have to either … make a long distance phone call or drive out of town,’” Rodgers said. “I think people should be able to get gifts that have meaning and cards that have meaning, locally.”
