Colquitt's newest mural
Colquitt's Elvis ate here
by MCL staff writer

Jimmy Phillip finishes his labor of love mural. here

Georgia's official first mural city, Colquitt, has its newest, and only locally painted mural just off of U.S. Highway 27.

Artist/teacher/city councilman Jimmy Phillips completed his "labor of love" mural on Thursday, August 2.

Just after a much needed downpour of rain, a crowd of friends and family gathered around to watch as Jimmy placed his signature in the bottom right-hand corner, indicating that the mural was complete.

The mural is a tribute to the history of his family. Each person portrayed on the mural owned businesses there since 1948. Pictured from right to left are his grandmother, Rubye Phillips, who owned and operated Rubye's Café; his grandfather, Audrey Phillips, who owned and operated Phillips Oil Company; and his father and himself, who co-owned and operated J. C.'s Oil Company.

Rubye's Café and Phillips Oil Company were opened for business in 1948, and closed in 1962. "Miss" Rubye was not only known for her great cooking, but was also known for owning monkeys and parrots. She also had a jukebox behind the café where people would gather to enjoy a night of fun and dancing. On the mural, a man is pictured in silhouette sitting at a table inside the café, reading the newspaper, and drinking coffee. This man is Elvis Presley. A little known fact about "Miss" Rubye is that Elvis walked into her café and asked her if she knew who he was. She told him that she did, but agreed to keep it to herself and let him enjoy his meal. She cooked him a steak, and he commented at the end of the meal that it was the best steak he had ever tasted and even left her a $10.00 tip. Mr. Audrey was the type of man who never met a stranger and was known for offering friendly service to everyone who came into his business. The station was a full-service service station. In addition to selling fuel, he offered tire repair services and complimentary oil checks.

Jimmy tells of when his grandmother, Rubye, served Elvis Presley a Colquitt steak that got a $10 tip.

J. C.'s Oil Company opened for business in 1984. Jimmy and his father, James, who was better known to everyone as "Doody," were known for having the cheapest gas prices in town. From time to time, they would have gas sales. During these sales, gas prices were sometimes dropped as much as 14 cents below suggested retail prices. Needless to say, cars were lined up by the dozens to buy the gas before it ran out. The children who came through the station with their parents would receive a piece of bubble gum. Jimmy became known as "The Bubble Gum Man." Parents would often tell him that they had to drive to his side of town just so their kids could get bubble gum from him. In 1987, the station was upgraded, and bulletproof glass was installed for added security. J. C.'s Oil Company was then incorporated, and the name of the business was changed to J. C.'s Oil, Inc. Jimmy and Doody ran the business together until Doody died in 1994. Jimmy then ran the business by himself until it was sold in 2000.

After selling the station, Jimmy went back to college and completed his bachelor's degree in middle grades education. Upon graduation, he was hired by the Decatur County Board of Education and taught for three years at Hutto Middle School. In 2005, he was hired by the Miller County Board of Education. He presently teaches Georgia Studies to eighth graders at Miller County Middle School and also coaches the middle school football team. I n the summer of 2010, Jimmy has plans to complete another mural on the opposite side of the same building. He plans to depict his Uncle Buck's wrecker service, the drive-in theater, which was owned by Doody and Buck, and the stockyard, which was owned by his great uncle, R.A. "Knot" Phillips.