After catering to the fashion needs of men in the area for 36 years, Dresden businessman Mike Parrish, 53, has decided to close Mr. B’s Men’s Store and pursue a new profession. Parrish, who also serves as an alderman on the Dresden City Board, says that he is looking forward to joining the banking community in his new career move.
Mr. B’s, located at 113 N. Poplar Street in Dresden has been a popular spot for local men and male teens to buy top of the line brands in the latest styles for over three decades.
At the age of 18, Mike went to work for Bob Bowlin, who was the original owner, in 1969. About seven years later, Parrish bought the store and has been working as its owner and operator ever since.
“It’s all been a good time,” Parrish said, recalling his many years at Mr. B’s. “I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed serving my customers. But, after 36 years, I decided it was time for me to try something else. He stated that on Monday, May 16, he began working as a loan officer at BancorpSouth, which is located at the north end of the same street from Mr. B’s.
Parrish stated that he has had a large number of employees who have helped him operate the store through the years. He noted that a lot of local students worked their way through college while employed at his store.
While discussing the many lines of clothing his store has specialized in during it’s long history in Dresden, Parrish replied that he carried the upper end merchandise, including Arrow shirts and Haggar slacks, as well as Alex Cannon, Nautica and Chaps – to name a few.
In order to liquidate the clothing in stock, the store is offering top name men’s wear at huge price cuts of up to 72 percent off. This includes professional business wear such as suits and blazers, socks, wallets and silk ties, as well as casual apparel featuring the UT Vols. Parrish says he will also be selling the fixtures. Store hours are 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
When asked if another merchant would be taking over Mr. B’s, Parrish said, “No, we’re just closing it. We’ll probably be out of business by the end of July.
The closure of the local clothing landmark marks the decline of yet another mom and pop store, which has become so common a scene in downtown areas throughout the country over the past several years.

The moment many area students have been working toward for the past 12 years finally came to fruition Friday night as 281 Weakley County graduating seniors walked down the aisles at their respective schools to the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” as they prepared to receive their high school diplomas.
Of the 281 graduates countywide, 86 graduated from Dresden, 38 from Greenfield, 32 from Gleason, and 125 from Westview.
For many, when the bitter-sweet moment of saying goodbye to high school life and their friends came, they met it with tears of joy and sorrow. Joy for having accomplished their goal of earning a high school diploma, and sorrow for leaving behind the routine they had taken part of as part of a group of fellow classmates, many of whom they knew both socially as well as academically.
The words voiced in speeches delivered by commencement speakers, valedictorians and salutatorians during graduation services across the county were different, of course, but similar in their overall message of encouraging the graduating seniors to look confidently toward the future and boldly take on the challenges of tomorrow, as the challenges of high school are left behind.
For some, the next challenge will be college or trade school, while others will be entering into the Armed Forces of the United States, or entering directly into the job market, or other vocations of their choosing.
The important thing is that the lessons learned in grades K-12 about being good persons and citizens are every bit as important as the academic knowledge absorbed, and that these social and moral lessons not be overlooked in the search of a successful career.
In many cases, the choices these young men and women make now, and in the coming months and years, will determine the kind of person they are going to be for the rest of their lives.
From the staff of the Dresden Enterprise, good luck and God bless!