Publix had 35 stores (only in FL) when Bob started in 1956. (Now....to the credit of many Neapolitans...there are 1,014 Publix supermarkets in: Florida - 729, Georgia - 177, South Carolina - 42, Alabama - 39 & Tennessee - 27.)
Made manager in 1959 (age 25).......came to Naples when store opened in 1962. He requested moving due to the Everglades and hunting & fishing. First Naples visit was on a Sunday.......deadsville with only Four Corner's gas station and Fifth AV Rexall open. Realtor Chuck Grimm showed the family Naples........and horrors!.....lots were selling for the outrageously high price of $55,000 in Port Royal. One could buy an average home for that much! heh-heh. Store #76 was often called 'the tail end" but became the Number ONE volume store in the chain. Winter season was horrendous but the crew was FANTASTIC. The stock men, part-timers and cashiers (Betty Harris, Lorene Adams, Peggy Wall, Ann Colwell, Alice Gilley, Lois Benfield, Bea Herbert, Mildred Salter, and others) weathered it all year after year. Bob always thought he had the FINEST team including great assistant managers. He worked 27 years and has been retired 27 years. Bob worked and loved Publix (being accused of having 'green blood' (Publix color). Bob knew the Jenkins, Blanton’s and founders of Pubix as it was a 'family geared' company. He purchased stock and badgered.......truly badgered employees to do the same. He has been happy to see it benefited many. Having about 50 teenagers working for him at almost any given time has made him know many Neapolitans and their families. He was able to see immature boys develop into successful, responsible adult men. His own three sons (Ken, Phil, & Troy) and three daughters (Robyn, Monica, & Colette) worked at Publix 76 in their youth and it is still in the family with the third generation there. A daughter married a son of a Publix manager. Retirement came in 1983 when he was 48 years old and there were 285 stores. At age 76, Bob is still the staunchest admirer of Publix. It is still his “bread and butter”. Bob delights and is encouraged seeing employees at many Publix stores showing signs of the potential he saw in the young ones that called Publix their first job. Publix let him enjoy 22 consecutive summers driving from Naples to Alaska for fishing and having a tractor to play on in North Florida. Naples is and will remain his home and Publix………and those that have helped make it grow, will be forever in his heart.
Mr. DeVille is the best and wisest man I have ever known. To me, he is still The Boss.
ReplyDeleteI learned more from this brilliant thinker than I can even say. He was a keen judge of human nature and he made sure that you did your best.
He was tough but fair. It was a lucky day for me when I went to work for him.
--Jim
Hey BHB,
ReplyDeleteExcellent write up! Thanks for the information. All of which is familiar to many families in Naples, including mine. My brother Phil worked for Mr. DeVille as well as my two sisters. (Missy and Sherri) All three had nothing but good things to say about Mr. DeVille and working there.
I don’t know why I didn’t join in on the family tradition, I guess I was too busy baby-sitting. I had quite a little business with that, two regular clients, and ten bucks an hour, which was unheard of in the 60’s and 70’s. But I earned every penny.
And by the way, when was the last time anyone caught a snook that size!?
Thanks again, Danny, good job!
Lake Park Home Girl
I didn't work for Mr. DeVille but I sure knew of his presence. Quite a few of the guys I graduated with were working under his watchful eye. He was a a great role model.
ReplyDeleteAnd, back in the day, my mom would make comment about "that nice Mr. DeVille" and how even though he was "store manager" he would make it a point to say hello. She felt very comfortable in his store.
One thing that stood out to me at the time was his perfect flat-top haircut . . . impeccable.
Thanks Bob DeVille for taking care of so many for so long.
Seagate Homeboy
NHS Class of '67
8:54 a.m. PDT
My first Job and I remember it well. New guys got to clean the restrooms, OH goodie. However Bob would come in many times and help with the cleaning.
ReplyDeleteI am lucky to had Publix for my first job at 15 years old. I will never forget it and what I learned there. I worked off and on from high school thru Edison Jr. College. Mr. Deville is first class and I am proud to call my friend. The only complaint I had was that he would always beat me to the pass and would just about always have a snook laying on the bank and I got real tired hearing him say "You are to late Jack". The best boss I ever had, bar none. Robert-Jackson Longmire or better known as "The Winggunner" I finally beat him at something" 1870 doves with a pair of 28 gauge shotguns in two days In Argentina.