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by LINDSAY DIEDRICH
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
For many, Appalachian State University is a four-year experience with a lifetime of memories.
For Archie D. Lyons, Sr. being a mountaineer is a way of life.
“I was born in Boone,” Archie said. “I started the cleaning business in Newland, after I got out of the service, with my brother and my father. We stayed over there until 1961."
Lyons is the owner of Dixie Cleaners, a family run business located on Howard Street behind Legends.
Appalachian recently purchased the business.
 Archie D. Lyons steam presses a shirt at Dixie Cleaners on Howard Street and has been the owner since 1961. The business will close its doors on Oct. 15. Photo by Adam Dixon
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“The [business] has been here since 1961,” Archie said.
The building which Dixie Cleaners now occupies dates back to the 40s.
“The building was built for an ice house right around the second World War,” Lyons said.
Lyons grew up on Appalachian’s campus.
“My
mother got a job at the college working at the girl’s gym and handing
out baskets to the girls that [were] going to school there,” Lyons
said. “We had an opportunity to move down on the college campus, there
was a row of houses right where the old gym is now.”
At the time, Lyon’s father worked in the dry cleaning industry, so the dry cleaning business was not unfamiliar to him.
“My father was then picking up dry cleaning for a company called Boone Steam Cleaners,” Lyons said.
Dixie Cleaners has held strong family values throughout the years.
In 1991
when Archie was diagnosed with cancer, their son Greg Lyons became
manager of Dixie Cleaners, Archie’s wife, Joann T. Lyons said.
The family-run business has evolved over the years.
Originally Dixie Cleaners ran off of coal, but has now switched to oil.
Over the years, Dixie Cleaners has kept a lot of the same customers, including Appalachian students.
“I have
to admire the college students, they’ve been real good all down through
the years, they’ve been exceptionally good,” Archie said. “I appreciate
all their business that I [get] from everybody.”
Archie and his family have only known for a few days that they were selling.
“Well I’ve only known for sure for about 15 or 20 days,” Archie said. “We thought this might happen.”
Dixie Cleaners will officially close their doors around Oct. 15.
Over the years the Lyons family has grown fond of the university and students.
“We appreciate our customers so very much,” Joann said. “The ASU students have been such good customers.”
The Lyons family has welcomed each new Appalachian generation with open arms.
“We’ve
seen some [students] from the time they came to ASU doing their first,
probably, dry cleaning that they have had done, on their own –up to
their promclothes and their interview clothes, then they’re pressing
their graduation gown,” Joann said. “It’s always sad to see them leave,
but we have appreciated them.”
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