Bud Coleman
W. L. "Bud” Coleman (born on February 6, 1929 in Birmingham; died, February 3, 2014, in McCalla) was a businessman, investor, home builder, and real estate developer. After leaving Jones Valley School after the sixth grade, Coleman joined his father R. C. Coleman and mother Mable Coleman in the family business, Coleman Auto Parts, in Powderly. At the business, he loaded and delivered coal to area homes and businesses. After several years of working in the coal department, he began working in the lumberyard and inside the store.
About 1951, Coleman Auto Parts was sold to Dub Coleman and the proceeds from the sale went into the purchasing and development of 400 acres of land in McCalla. A road was built into the property and then the first lake was built. After the first lake filled with water, it was stocked with bass, bluegills, and shellcrackers. That first lake opened to the public in 1953. Fishing permits were $1.00 a day. Wooden boats were also rented for $1.00.
Over the next several years, six more lakes were built and opened to the public for fishing.
Bud Coleman worked inside the store and R.C. Coleman worked outside, maintaining the property and supervising the building of more roads and lakes.
Much of the bait that was sold to fishermen came from an on-premises catalpa tree farm and meal worm barn.
On June 20, 1958, R. C. died and Bud Coleman took total control of the business. Mable moved back to Powderly.
Bud designated one of the smaller ponds as a catfish pond. That endeavor was unsuccessful because most of the catfish died soon after being dumped into the lake. He also built a large picnic area with barbeque pits and concrete tables. The purpose was to drive customers deeper into the development, but that also proved to be a failure. After a fire burned the entire picnic area, the project was abandoned.
The fishing and bait business continued to be profitable until the entire development, including the family home was sold to C. P. Griffin in 1960. Griffin was the person who had originally sold the property to R. C. and Bud.
Bud moved his family to Green Acres, a community on the western side of Birmingham.
Part of Bud’s payment for Coleman Lakes was raw land on the north side of Rock Mountain near McCalla. Bud sold 50% interest in the land to Raymond Martin, and they soon began building a road over Rock Mountain and the first of three recreational fishing lakes. The development was named Rock Mountain Lakes.
When the first lake was opened to the public for fishing in 1963, both the Coleman and Martin families moved to Rock Mountain Lakes.
Soon after the first two lakes were built, home lots were sold on the waterfront of the first lake. When those lots sold quickly, more roads were built and more lots were sold.
A corporation, Rock Mountain Lakes, Inc. was formed with Bud and his wife June and Raymond and his wife Ned as officers.
In 1965, Coleman and Martin bought the two Griffin Lakes and the adjoining property on the north side of Rock Mountain from Roy Griffin. Fishing permits for the Griffin Lakes were sold from an office on that side of the mountain and home lots were surveyed and quickly sold.
In the early 1970s, Martin and Coleman began building spec homes, both together and separately, on property that they owned at Rock Mountain Lakes.
In 1975, Raymond Martin sold his half of Rock Mountain Lakes, Inc. to Coleman. Several months later Elbert and Mary Buckelew bought half interest in the business from Coleman. Bud Coleman and Elbert Buckelew sold home lots and built spec homes, both together and separately.
In 1990, the corporation was dissolved and the remaining acreage was donated to area churches and transferred to the Rock Mountain Lakes Landowners’ Association.
In February 1982, Bud Coleman and his son Bill opened a Kwik Kopy Printing franchise at Westlake Village in Bessemer. Space inside the store was leased to PDQ Electronics, a cash register sales company based in Atlanta, GA.
In 1984, space was designated inside the store for one hour photo processing. Kathy Coleman managed the one hour photo portion of the business.
Just before Thanksgiving 1983, Bud and June Coleman and another son, Bobby Coleman, opened the first Video Xpress in Westown Plaza in Bessemer. Bud provided the funding for that store and several more the following year when Bill and Kathy Coleman left Kwik Kopy with a manager and began opening Video Xpress stores. Brenda Venz, the daughter of Bud and June, also began opening stores with her husband Johnny Venz.
After the first six or seven stores were opened, future stores were opened with the cash generated from established stores.
In 1986, the Kwik Kopy Printing franchise was closed to the public and became an in-house print shop for Video Xpress.
Video Xpress eventually grew to a chain of 85 locations.
On November 1, 1994, Video Xpress was sold to Dothan-based Movie Gallery.
During the late 1990s, Bud Coleman provided funding for Dollar Daze, a small chain of general merchandise dollar stores. Stores were opened in Bay Minette, Alabama, Pensacola, FL, and Naples, FL. Bill and Kathy Coleman managed the Bay Minette store. Chris Coleman managed the Pensacola store. Bobby and Ginnie Coleman managed the Naples store. Several stores were opened in the Birmingham area, managed by Johnny and Brenda Venz.
In the early 2000s, the weak economy caused business to drop dramatically, and by 2002 all of the Dollar Daze stores were liquidated and closed.
In the early 1990s, Bud began investing in preconstruction condos in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama. He held most as rental properties, but also flipped properties upon completion when it was economically advantageous to do so.
The Fall 1997 issue of ‘’’Gulf Coast Condo Owner’’’ reported that the Coleman’s owned 22 units in Phoenix properties alone.
Bud Coleman was an active member of Rock Mountain Lakes Baptist Church. He died in 2014 and is buried at Patton Chapel Cemetery in Hoover.
Publications
- Coleman, Bill (March 2016) The Life and Times of Bud Coleman of Jefferson County, Alabama. Book One: 1929 - 1978. CreateSpace Publishing. ISBN 153084505X
- Coleman, Bill (March 2016) The Life and Times of Bud Coleman of Jefferson County, Alabama. Book Two: 1978 - 2014. CreateSpace Publishing. ISBN 1532738129
- Coleman, Bill (March 2016) The History of Rock Mountain in Jefferson County, Alabama (Second Printing, Revised). CreateSpace Publishing. ISBN 1530625343
- Fullman, Lynn Grisard. The Birmingham News. “Neighborhood Profile: Rock Mountain Lakes”. Undated newspaper clipping.
- Kwik-Kopy Kids. "New Kids: June and Bud Coleman with Son Bill – No. 664. Bessemer, Alabama.” 1982
- Lane, Joyce. Video Store Magazine. “Better Late Than Never: The Coleman Family Has Only Been At It Two Years, But Their Video Xpress Chain Is Booming.” August 1986.
- Wallach, Van. Video Store Magazine. “Of Kindred Spirit: From Huntsville to Montgomery, Alabama’s Video Xpress Is Serving Up Business Family Style.” April 1988.
- Burttram, Charlie. The Birmingham News, “Video Stores Have Replaced Corner Drug Store Image.” November 13, 1988.
- Kindred, Ingrid. The Birmingham News, “A Store on Every Corner: Video Xpress Founder Is a Pioneer in Rental Venture.” August 15, 1989.
- Snider, Alan. The Western Star. “Things Just Happen, They’re Never Planned.” December 2, 1992.
- Lilienthal, Lisa. Video Store Magazine. “The Video Store Top 100: Marketing for Dollars.” December 1993.
- Rynecki, David. The Birmingham Post-Herald, “Movie Gallery Records New Acquisitions.” October 20. 1994.
- Williams, Roy. The Birmingham News, “Movie Gallery Will Acquire Video Xpress Stores.” October 20, 1994.
- Paige, Earle. Video Business, “Movie Gallery Adding a Chain.” October 21, 1994.
- McDonald, Owen. Video Software Dealer. “Alabama Video Chain Plans to Buy 95 Stores.” October 1994.
- Farris, Abby. Gulf Coast Condo Owner. Their Own Part of the Coast: After Six Years of Buying Gulf Coast Condominiums, Bud Coleman Has Turned Condo Ownership Into a Profitable Business. Fall 1997.
External links
- Rock Mountain website
- Rock Mountain Lakes website