then _ & now
g a l l a t in 's s t y l e s c e n e Born in the 1960s, Jeannie and her family lived just outside the city limits in Castalian Springs. The family ventured into Gallatin on a regular basis for everything they needed, and Jeannie has fond memories of the city’s retail scene. “Coming into town to go shopping was a big deal,” Jeannie remembers. “Mom would often drop us off at the city pool for a few hours, then pick us up and take us to HG Hill for a treat.” Jeannie Gregory in the late 1960s posing for a school portrait wearing a dress from a Gallatin shop.
What was the shopping scene like for people living in Gallatin in the 1960s and 1970s? We posed this question to Jeannie Gregory, a lifelong Gallatin resident and owner of The Jeannie Gregory Agency, an insurance agency in the city.
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f you’ve lived in Gallatin for any length of time, you’ve probably heard of Jeannie and her team. They are well known for sponsoring community events throughout the region, including the Third Thursday on Main concert series on Gallatin’s historic square and the Tinsel and Treasures holiday shopping event each November. Before launching the agency that bears her name, Jeannie also spent several years as the Executive Director of the Gallatin Area Chamber of Commerce. uf ce it t sa that eannie n s a thin r t a ut her Gallatin.
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Though many stores and their owners have come and gone in the last four decades, Jeannie still remembers the establishments that lined the streets on and around the city’s historic square, including The National Store, a department store in the space that now houses a barber shop. “The National Store had everything,” she recalled, “including appliances and furniture, clothing, lingerie, dresses, baby gifts, and more.” Gallatin was home to several other department stores, including JC Penney’s, located in the building where the Secret Garden kids’ consignment shop is today, and a Sears on Westland not far from Depot Square. “Sears was a catalog store,” Jeannie explained. “You would order items from the Sears catalog and pick them up at the store after they arrived.” Back-to-school shopping in those days was as big a deal as it is now. Jeannie has fond memories of visiting boutiques on the square, including The Davis Shop at North Water and Main where Filly’s is now. “You could get the cutest little wooden cigar box purses decorated with sequins, jewels, patterns, and peacock feathers,” Jeannie said. From there, she and her mom would walk down the street to the People’s Store, a department store owned by the Rutledge Brothers that had a menswear
