SAYING GOODBYE
Wades sell popular Bullard business to locals
By Lori Mellinger editor@bullardnews.com

Jim and Mardee Wade stand behind the counter of the Movie Place. The Wades are selling the business and will welcome the new owners with an open house on June 30.

Jim and Mardee Wade have no regrets.

The owners of the Movie Place - a Bullard staple - said it's time to move on. And while the owners will change the business is staying.

The Wades sold the business to another Bullard couple and after the two lock the doors on July 1, Pat and Sandy Gilbert will unlock the business on July 2 as the new owners.

The store itself has been in Bullard for more than 18 years, and the Wades took the reins in 1996.

"We planned on staying five years, but it somehow turned into 11," said Jim. "It's time to go."

Even though the couple is parting with their business, they aren't leaving the area - except in spurts.

"We plan on playing golf and traveling," Mardee said.

The two had never planned on being in the video store business anyway, but they bought the store much the same as the Gilberts purchased it from them.

"There was a sign on the door advertising the business for sale," Jim said. "I asked the owner how much and made a counteroffer."

The one thing he didn't do was tell Mardee until after he had done it.

"I was surprised to say the least," she said. "But really retirement was boring."

The two moved here in 1994 to retire. Mardee said after shoveling snow from the driveway one too many times in Illinois, they agreed.

"It was time to move south," Jim said.

So they began driving.

Mardee grew up in Wichita Falls, and Jim and she both lived in big cities and across the country - but they knew they wanted to retire to Texas.

"We wanted a rural setting," Jim said. "But we decided on East Texas because of the hills."

After two years, though, they decided retirement could wait, and the two agree that Bullard is much more home now, after owning the store all these years.

"It's helped us meet people," Mardee said. "And that's the one thing we'll miss."

Jim agreed. "This is many times the first place a kid gets to sign his name," he said. "And we've watched many children grow up coming in and out of our doors."

But now the two will get to spend more time with their own families.

"Owning a business ties you down," Jim said. "And we're at the point where we don't want to be tied down anymore."

They will spend a couple of weeks helping the Gilberts get acclimated.

But they feel good about the ones who will be keeping the business alive.

"We're happy we've sold it to local people," Mardee said. "That was what we hoped for."

Last month they put a sign in the window, advertising it was for sale.

"We put the sign up Thursday," Jim said. "The Gilberts' daughter Katie saw the sign and went home and told her parents they needed to buy it."

Katie must have been convincing, because they came in the following Tuesday and came to an agreement with the Wades.

Jim and Mardee want the transition to go as smoothly as possible so they're having an open house on their last day, June 30, to welcome Pat and Sandy and introduce them to the community.

The open house will be at the Move Place, from 3-6 p.m. Saturday, June 30.

The Wades said light refreshments would be available.