The Daily Record
From Comics To Records At Ray’s
By SHAUN SAVARESE
Of The Record Staff
Ray and Casey Powers opened the door to Ray’s Rustic Corner two weeks ago. The former storage room in the Erwin Gold and Silver building at 701 S. 13th St., Erwin, is presently packed with instruments, records, comics and collectibles.
The father-and-son duo have a surprising inventory of musical memorabilia and pop culture collectibles.
Wide Selection
The inventory includes a circa 1964 double f-hole hollow body electric guitar, which while the rarest item in the shop, is not the most valuable.
The selection of amplifiers range from $40 to $150 to more than $200, some standing 4 feet high. There’s $85 club lights, $105 record players, accompanied by $10 heavy metal, classic rock and Motown vinyl records.
“I sell brand-new record players and they are the new kind that you can actually hook into your MAC and PC … ,” said Ray Powers, “These are brand-spanking new, never been used, never been opened, $105, right out the door,” he said.
Mr. Powers, an over-the-road trucker and Erwin resident, opened Ray’s Rustic Corner with his son, after his father, a retired Green Beret, with more than 30 years of service in Germany and at Fort Bragg was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer.
Mr. Powers worked for a company in Mississippi until he returned to the home that he owns on Old Stage Road in order to help his aging parents care for their Fayetteville property. Son, Casey, not only works as an attendant in the shop, he has contributed hundreds of pieces of popculture literature in the form of “Avengers” comic books and “Star Wars” paperback books.
The store is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
Father and son, Ray, left, and Casey Powers, right, stand proudly among their collection of instruments, memorabilia, music and literature in Ray’s Rustic Corner, inside the Erwin Gold & Silver building at 701 S. 13th St. in Erwin.
Daily Record Photo/Shaun Savarese
