In the novel DEVIL MAKE A THIRD, 18 year old Buck Bannon awakens on his first morning in Aven and finds that the new town consists of  "a single business street"  made up of "a row of tin-roofed store buildings lining the street nearest the railroad." As he walks along contemplating what he sees, Buck absent-mindedly stumbles into his first business deal in the form of a calf being held by a young country boy standing in front of a store named Green's General Merchandise. It is here that Buck discovers "the shortcut" to riches and over the next three chapters, he acquires enough money to buy Titus Green's store as well as the entire city block across from the store where he builds a large house for his parents and the Bannon siblings.(later in the novel Buck will build the three "gift houses" that his Mother requested for his sisters). On the first page of Chapter 6, Buck admires the big house he has just completed on land he'd paid too much for but Buck believed it was worth it because "a man oughtn't to live over two hoe handles from his business."

Well this week, by examining a copy of the 1935 DOTHAN CITY DIRECTORY,  I found out that the old Joe Baker house @ 509 North St. Andrews was directly across the street from Green Grocery @ 200 East Powell on the southeast corner of North St. Andrews and East Powell. Dougie Bailey grew up in a house next to the old Joe Baker house. His Mother, Willie Baker, owned 500 North Foster. Her sister, Mrs. Vera Lane, owned 502 North Foster, and another sister, Mrs. M.A. Miller owned 504 North Foster. These were gift houses built according to the wishes of their Mother, Mrs. Joe Baker.