Let’s start in World War II.

Ivey Plair Sr. was on Okinawa, waiting for the orders to go into Japan. His unit did not go to Japan due to the United States dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

When Plair returned home to Valdosta, wearing his Army-issued shorts and shirt, he went to Irvin’s Men’s Store to find some civilian clothes.

Sam Cohen from Americus opened Irvin’s in 1939. Initially housed in a small, long, narrow building in Downtown Valdosta, Cohen named the store after his son, Irvin, who also served in World War II. The plan was for Irvin to return after the war and run the store for his dad, but Irvin didn’t make it back.

Sam Cohen passed away in the 1960s, so there’s no speaking now of his motivations with certainty, but in grieving his son, maybe Sam saw something in Ivey Plair Sr. that reminded him of Irvin.

Cohen offered him a job along with a $5-a-week increase in pay more than what he had been making at A&P. Plair Sr. had planned to resume work with A&P, but Cohen

told him the offer would still be there if he

changed his mind.

It turned out A&P wanted Plair Sr. to work again, but the grocery store chain wanted to relocate him to Waycross.

Plair Sr. told his wife, who told him that he could go to Waycross if he wanted, but she was staying in Valdosta.

That’s how Plair Sr. came to work for Irvin’s Men’s Store. Along the way, the store relocated across the street to Bennie’s Alley, eventually ending up where 306 North is today on Patterson Street.

In 1966, Cohen got sick and was hospitalized. His brother, Ferd, convinced Sam to sell Irvin’s to the two guys who had worked there the longest: Ivey Plair Sr. and Stuart Scruggs.

In preparation, Ferd came to the store, plastered the windows with The Valdosta Daily Times newspapers and closed the store for a couple of days while he and staff went through the inventory marking things down for a stock-reduction sale.

Plair Sr.’s son, Ivey Plair Jr., delivered sandwiches one day when Ferd offered him a job alongside his father.

“I was a high school kid who didn’t know anything, but Ferd Cohen thought I was pretty sharp,” said Ivey Plair Jr.

When Irvin’s reopened, they had to get a police officer to stand by the door, only letting a few people in and out at a time while a line stretched down the block.

Sam Cohen passed away soon after getting out of the hospital, but Plair Sr. and Scruggs continued, opening a second location at Five Points.

That’s where Plair Sr. and Plair Jr. worked together for years until the early 1980s.

“When we found out the mall was coming, my dad felt like somebody from Valdosta needed to be in the mall or we’d all be out of business.”

After much debate, Plair Sr. and Scruggs dissolved their partnership, with Scruggs keeping the Irvin’s name and Plair Sr. adopting Ivey’s The Man’s Shop.

When the Plairs opened the store in the Valdosta Mall, it became apparent they’d need extra help. The Plairs decided to wind down the Five Points store and concentrate on the mall location.

The family business stayed there for 14 years, from 1983 until 1997, when they moved across the street on Norman Drive.

Ten years later, Ivey’s moved to the current location in Sugar Creek Plaza.

After growing up watching his father work at Irvin’s and working with him through their change to Ivey’s, Ivey Plair Jr. and his wife, Linda, are retiring.

It wasn’t the first career choice for Plair Jr. At the age of 13, he wanted to be a rock & roll drummer after receiving a drum set and earning $25 for playing a show in the same day.

But Ivey’s is a job he’s enjoyed and loved. Some customers have been coming for decades while some find Ivey’s for the first time looking for a prom tuxedo or getting fitted for a Bridgemen uniform.

Ivey and Linda had planned on not doing any weddings in July as they held one last weeks-long sale, but they couldn’t resist one more wedding for a groom who had been coming to Ivey’s for years for prom tuxedos.

When they do shut the doors, it will be a big change for Plair Jr., who has been coming to work in a suit and tie for decades.

“It’s going to be strange getting up and not putting on a shirt and tie in the near future.”

Linda has been helping him prepare. A few weeks ago, she offered to lay out his clothes while he was getting ready. She put out a T-shirt, a pair of khaki shorts and a pair of sandals.

“She said you need to practice your retirement clothing.”

Still, he’s not giving up on suits entirely. After selling a suit he had ordered for himself, Ivey has his eye on a suit in the store.

“I have a feeling I might have to get this one. I won’t let it get out of sight.”