AFFORDABLE APPLIANCES AUSTIN

A GREAT SUCCESS STORY
In 1971, Robert Bailey and Alvin Barrier opened a small country store called Minpro Supply in the town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina. They sold gasoline, refurbished appliances, and bologna sandwiches made by Roberts mother.

In 1975, Mr. Carol Buckner of Asheville, North Carolina approached the two men about selling a new wood-burning stove that he had built, which included a three-speed motor. Buckner was searching for an outfit that could manufacture the stove, which he called the "Regular Buck", as well as set up a dealer network for its sales. He had created the stove in the midst of the national energy crisis, when people were desperately looking for heating alternatives to gas and oil. Buckner made Bailey and Barrier an offer: if they could not sell the stove within 30 days, he would buy it back from them, no strings attached.

Bailey and Barrier used the stove as a floor model, and within two weeks, the partner's had so many orders, they realized that they should pursue the future in dealing with Buck Stoves. They became the first official Buck Stove Dealer, and began assisting in manufacturing operations as well. Within two or three months, they had sold 200 stoves. They transformed their store into a manufacturing facility, selling the stoves faster than they could get them off of the finishing line. Robert's sister, Betty Bailey Carswell, even learned how to weld to help keep production moving. They set a goal of producing 30 stoves a week, but the demand was so high they quickly fell behind.
in the early 1980's
Rapidly running out of physical space, the company moved down the road to a property with an existing larger structure. Bailey and Barrier set a new goal of manufacturing 200 stoves a week, but again found they still were not meeting the demand. To solve their dilemma, the two men decided to hire more employees and build a new structure on the property that could keep up with their ever-increasing sales. In less than 12 months the company went from manufacturing 30 stoves a week to 3,000 stoves per month. Shortly after, other stoves were added to the production line, including the "Big Buck" and the "Little Buck". All three models were triple-wall stoves with three-speed motors and fans.

IF YOU ARE SEEING THIS IN A CRAIGSLIST AD, PLEASE BE AWARE:
This is NOT the stove that is being advertised. My stove is NOT for sale. The stove being sold on Craigslist may look like this one, but it is not the same one. People keep using this photo without permission.

Here's the "new" stove we got! Not really new at all... The walls behind it aren't completely finished yet, but at least now we can cook!

More about the stove... this stove was made by House of Webster. They don't sell appliances anymore -- they sold them from the late 1950s to the early 2000s. This one, I think, is 1970s-vintage. However, it is made of cast iron from an 1875 pattern. It is electric, though, not a wood stove. The "coffee grinder" on the top is actually the clock/timer! The controls for the burners and oven are behind the doors on the left. It works beautifully, except the thermometer on the front door isn't accurate -- it shows about half of the actual temperature. So there is a little hanging thermometer inside the oven. The oven also has an internal thermometer somewhere that works correctly, because it preheats to the correct temperature. Not sure how, but it works...

The "warming ovens" at the top don't actually stay all that warm since this isn't a normal wood stove. Right now the right one contains hot pads (especially needed since the iron handle on the oven door gets HOT!)