National Clothesline

William “Joe” Griggs, Sr., 82, the founder of Wayside Cleaners, Inc., passed away at Maryview Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia, on Monday, November 24.

Prior to retiring in October of 2001, he had spent over 60 years of his life working in the drycleaning industry — often seen with a velvet spotting brush in his hand and a cheerful smile on his face.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Griggs traveled to Portsmouth for a Labor Day getaway in 1939 after graduating from high school. The vacation turned out to be a working one since he received and accepted a job offer on his 18th birthday at Manley’s Dry Cleaners, owned by the Trubyville family.

Initially, he cleaned boilers, but it did not take long before he began cultivating a deeper knowledge of all facets of the cleaning field.

While working at Manley’s, Griggs became friends with the plant’s equipment mechanic, Robert Pendleton, who introduced him to Henrietta Perry, the love of his life.

Unfortunately, circumstances soon interfered with the couple’s budding romance. Griggs enlisted in the Navy the following year, prior to the U. S. involvement in World War II and was subsequently shipped out to the North Atlantic where he endured many intense naval battles.

According to Grigg’s son, Bill, the odds were against his father coming out of the war alive. “In one convoy, they lost 27 out of 33 ships. They sailed across the North Atlantic route -- Portsmouth to England,” he explained in an interview from National Clothesline in 1999.

During his time at sea, Joe Griggs was not content with simply fulfilling his duties as a gunnery instructor. Bitten by an entrepreneurial bug, he kept a small cleaning and pressing store in the ammo room where he could “hustle” some money from his shipmates.

In 1944, Griggs was eligible for discharge and he immediately made plans to meet with Perry in Nashville. Though her father had previously opposed her marrying “a sailor,” he gave his blessing to the couple, who got married in June of that year.

Griggs then took it upon himself to complete the rigorous, four-month comprehensive cleaning course at the International Fabricare Institute (then known as the National Association Institute of Dyers and Cleaners) in Silver Spring, Maryland. He used the G.I. Bill to pay for tuition.

Shortly after, Griggs resumed his work at Manley’s, taking it upon himself to learn as much as he could. He managed the business until 1956, the year he and his wife founded Wayside Cleaners, Inc., named after the fact that the business was located “out of the way” on an inconvenient old country road.

That mattered little, however, to the business’s bottom line. Wayside Cleaners never had a shortage of customers. Griggs always strived to meet impeccable standards and his customers appreciated it. Driving a few extra miles was a small price to pay for outstanding service and attention to detail.

Fellow cleaners would even make the trek to the store seeking advice on how to handle difficult garments. Griggs had no compunction about passing along his knowledge to competitors because he greatly enjoyed helping others.

He contributed to the industry further by serving as secretary, treasurer and president of the Portsmouth-Chesapeake-Suffolk Laundry and Dry Cleaners Association.

Over the years, as the reputation of Wayside expanded, so did the size of the company. The plant had begun with seven employees, but, by the 1970s, it grew to include over 50 workers altogether.

In 1988, Wayside became the first cleaners in Virginia to become computerized. Also at that time, the company was considered the “premiere cleaner of wedding gowns for Hampton Roads.”

Additionally, Griggs was the motivating force behind one of the industry’s first websites in 1996, when he launched www.waysidecleaners.com.

Despite his innovations and endeavors as a businessman, Griggs was happiest spending time talking and reminiscing with his family. However, he arguably harbored an equally strong passion for keeping active at the spotting board.

“All dad ever wanted to do is to have that $100-a-week spotter’s job,” Bill Griggs recalled. “That was the job he liked most when he was coming up in the trade. He liked the challenge.”

Fittingly enough, B&G Lieberman of Atlanta recognized Griggs at the Orlando Clean Show in 1999 when the company introduced its product, “Joe’s Velvet Brush,” to honor his 60th year in the industry. He had utilized a similar one ever since its inception, 30 years prior.

Griggs was also paid tribute that year by Mayor James Holley, who marked his six decades in the industry by proclaiming a special “Joe Griggs Day” for the town of Portsmouth.

Also during that year, Griggs took on the role of CEO for Wayside Cleaners, Inc. Unfortunately, 1999 turned out to be a bittersweet time in his life because his wife passed away. Two years later, he officially retired.

Griggs is survived by his son, William Joseph Griggs, Jr.; his daughter, Dorothy Lee Strickland and her husband Earl; two brothers, Shirley H. Griggs, and Roy Griggs; and a sister, Elva Mae Stubblefield.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association or the Alzheimer’s Association.