Devyn LeBlanc
reporter@greenepublishing.com
MuddyDog, our new local gem and stone shop, had its grand opening Wednesday, Sept. 22. Billie Margraves, the owner, is honored to share his hard work and passion with the community. His shop offers a variety of beautiful gem stones he spent time collecting with the company of his dog, Duce, who is the inspiration for the name of the shop.
Margraves is from Michigan, where he was involved in his community and was the Vice President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO). Margraves has been an electrician for 33 years and plans to retire soon. He started his career with a five-year apprenticeship working with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). In his free time, he and Duce would go rock hunting in the woods. He also spent a great deal of time with the children in his neighborhood, of whom all took a liking to collecting rocks. They would sit with him after work and ask questions about their rocks, while he shared his stories. Each day when he came home from work, the children would be at his house waiting for his company. Sometimes, Margraves would be gone for over month while on his rock adventures, as he likes to call it, and the children would swarm around the van before he could make it to the driveway.
Margraves has four daughters of whom he is very proud. Each of them has found what they are truly passionate about and have much to offer their communities. His eldest daughter passed away some years ago, but the spirit of her memory still remains alive. When his daughters were just children, Margraves decided after nine-and-a-half years of being in the Navy, he would much rather be a dad to his girls.
Although Margraves was well liked and very involved with the people of his community, he needed a change. The Michigan snow was no longer appealing and he yearned for a change of pace. On his last Navy tour, Margraves had been stationed in Pensacola, Fla. and was truly delighted by the change of scenery. He began looking for his new home about three years ago. He didn't have much luck and couldn't find anything to his liking. He was finally led to Madison by his realtor, where he came to see the building in which he is now located. Margraves hopes to become an active part of the community, as he has taken a liking to our little town and the people in it. He finds joy seeing all of the smiling faces and polite greetings as he explores the town.
When you walk into MuddyDog, you will see Margraves with a smile on his face, often interacting with customers and striking up conversations. He has many stories to tell about his adventures and is willing to share with anyone who is interested. His gem shop is located at 179 S Duval Ave., in Madison, where Odiorne Insurance was once located.