Lewis Kerr Mowery Sr. was born on this day in 1924.
Mowery was best known to Winston-Salem residents as the owner of the Mother and Daughter Stores Inc.
The business was founded in 1939 by Charles and Harry Coplon. When Malcolm Coplon took over the business in 1971, he changed the name to M. H. Coplon Company.
Mowery was the comptroller of the business, and he bought it in 1976, and renamed the business Mother and Daughter Stores. He increased the number of stores from four to seven, and employed 90 people.
The downtown store was located in the 300 block of North Liberty Street for many years. It later moved to the 100 block of West Fourth Street.
Mowery closed the business in 1993, which included the six stores he owned at that time. The reason for closing the stores was the influx of mass merchandisers into Winston-Salem, and the departure of specialty department stores from the downtown area. Two stores, Davis Department Store and L. Roberts, had left downtown recently.
Mowery was a member of the Winston-Salem Downtown Merchants Association, the Better Business Bureau, and other civic organizations.
Mowery passes away in 2006.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
