Supervisor and buyer for stores, Duke & Ayres Company. Family background; farming near Weatherford, Texas; experiences during Depression in Weatherford; employment with Duke & Ayres, 1941; comments on employee rules and regulations; description of ownership changes; comments on merchandise sold in stores; personnel practices; employment with Duke & Ayres variety store in Athens, Texas, 1945; changes in business after World War II; difficulties obtaining popular products in quantity; comments on failure of growth in company after World War II; employment at new store in Lancaster, Texas, 1959; promotion to and experiences as supervisor of stores; transfer to Dallas as buyer for stores, 1966; problems as buyer for variety store chain; comments on management changes; description of First Southwest’s purchase of Duke & Ayres, 1972; management’s cutback in operations, 1982; views on company’s cessation of operations, 1983.