THOMASVILLE, Ga. – Sunday, the doors to JCPenny swing open and close, while Margie Guyton continues to sing hymns next door.
“When people get out of church, most of the time they come to look in JCPenny. It’s going to be missed because they really do have some good bargains,” says Guyton.
She says she remembers coming here with her grandparents as a little girl for school clothes.
Like many in Thomasville, she’s now sad to see the store close.
JCPenny’s final day is Monday, July 31.
“I could walk around, look, and see things and meet new people,” says one local shopper.
Sunday, people walked out with bags in hands. Some even had shelves and tables, leaving the store’s walls and floors bare inside.
Many say their biggest concern isn’t the loss of a popular department store, but the loss of local jobs for families in Thomasville.
“Families have to eat, you know. That’s what I think at the end of the day. People have to eat,” says a local shopper.
For Guyton, she never stops thinking about it. She sits and sings to feed the local homeless that are also out of jobs.
“A lot of people need jobs in the time we’re living in because sometimes it’s just hard to make ends meet,” says Guyton.
She says in the past few days, management and staff have come over to visit, some even singing along.
“We all need encouragement,” says Guyton. “You can imagine what they’re going through.”
A community coming together during a sign of hard times.
JCPenny says around 5,000 positions are impacted by the closures. They say they hope to help and relocate some of the workers.
