The total price of a new Ford pickup was $295. It was the 1930s. That’s how long the Toliver family has been in the auto dealership business.

The family got its start when Brian Toliver’s grandfather, R.L. Burton, purchased a gas station, adding a new car franchise to the dealership, in Haskell.

Burton advertised, “Pick your dealer first and then choose your used car. …Today we are offering some of the greatest bargains in our history.” Included in the advertisement were cars priced starting at $10.

It really is all in the family at the Carriage House Manor, Sulphur Springs’ only locally private-owned and operated rehabilitation and 24-hour skilled nursing facility.

Arvis and Sheila Tanton, owners of the facility at 210 Pipeline Road, took over the business in 2000 from its former corporate owner, R.W. and Belle McDonell.

Considered the representative smiling face of Carriage House Manor, Arvis is the administrator and owner of the business while Sheila, also a co-owner, remains a “silent partner.”

Arvis’ roots in the nursing home business run deep. After graduating college, he began as a social worker for the Department of Public Welfare, advancing to a nursing home surveyor before rounding out his 14-year service to the state.

“This experience was beneficial in learning how to run a nursing home,” said Sheila, noting that her husband of 35 years spent the next 21 years working as a nursing home administrator in Sherman, Honey Grove, Cooper and Terrell.

The family that kicks together sticks together. This is the motto the Daron and Melissa Bilyeu family, owners of the Sulphur Springs ATA Martial Arts, stick by daily.

“This is the first time the ATA Martial Arts here in Sulphur Springs has ever been owned by a family,” Melissa, a fourth degree black belt and nationally certified instructor, said. “The business has been around for a long time, but we have owned it for the past four years. This is not like the movies. It is much more than just hitting, kicking and punching.”

Home is where the heart is.

RE/MAX Advanced owners Chris Brown and Karen McMahan know Hopkins County – residential, land and commercial. The brother and sister team have been uniting clients with their ideal properties since 2001.

For this family, there are many homes – or home properties – at the heart of their family.

If Paula Brown sometimes repeats herself, it is for a good reason. She, along with her family, has been in the business of copying and facsimiles for the past four years.

She and her husband, Dan, are the owners of Advantage Copy Systems, located at 1321 Shannon Road and an authorized Canon dealer.

Will it be plain or fancy? No need to pick or choose – Plain & Fancy Sandwich Shoppe gives customers both selections from a menu of healthy salads, sandwiches, wraps and soups plus scrumptious homemade desserts.

Hungry for breakfast at lunch? At Plain & Fancy, breakfast – plates of scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon, toast or biscuits, croissants or burritos – is served any time.

Plain & Fancy Catering includes  “plain” finger foods as well as “fancy” gourmet dinners perfect for all occasions served in-house or delivered on-site.

What is the family’s secret recipe? Speed, consistency and quality.

Jerry Maynard, owner of East Texas Landscaping and Fencing, got a grass roots start – literally. His business grew from the simple task of mowing lawns.

However, the roots of his inspiration run deep with his grandfather, Rudolph, and his father, Gary, who work in the tree service business.

Maynard’s business has bloomed over the past 16 years, adding fencing, irrigation, landscape design and much more to his services.

“I really enjoy working outdoors and with people,” Maynard said.

To say the Circle E Western Wear Store has come full circle might be an understatement.

The Circle E Western Wear Store, spun from the Eddins Western Wear store that began on Main Street in 1951, has been handed down through the Eddins family since 1972 to its current owners Mickey and Linda Eddins.

Formerly bankers in Corpus Christi, the Weavers admit that it was a bit of foolish fate that led them to this business and Sulphur Springs.

“We had never owned a business before when we heard about it and started looking into it,”  Bob Weaver said. “My family is located in Dallas and my wife’s is in Texarkana — we just figured this is where we were meant to be.”

On April 1, 1995, Bob and Peggy Weavers closed on their purchase of Town and Country Dry Cleaners and Laundry on Mockingbird Lane from its former owners of 10 years, John and Nancy Browning. Then again, on April 1 of 2000, they closed on their land for their current location at 1415 South Broadway St. In keeping with their Fool’s Day tradition, the Weavers finished their new building also on April 1, 2002.

Tired of big national retail chains and having to drive for miles to find furniture, appliances, televisions or computers? Then look no further than a hidden Sulphur Springs gem — Customer’s Choice.

For husband and wife team Larry and Marinelle Randolph, it is all about bringing a higher level of customer service with their rental/lease business.

Since opening a branch in Sulphur Springs in February of 2008, Customer’s Choice has been satisfying locals with their products and flexible spending options, holding true to their motto, “making ownership easy and affordable.”