Curtis Drake Jr. was just a teenager when he started his career from the ground up.
Literally, he began by cleaning floors. At the age of 16, his preacher found him two doctor’s offices to clean on Friday afternoons.
The business grew into an industry — Drake Janitorial Service.
Drake retired as of April 30 and has turned the business over to his daughter, Susan Drake Boyd and two grandchildren, Ryan Drake Boyd and Amy B. Beverage.
“I’ve always said I wanted to do something outside,” Drake said.
The son of Curtis Sr. and Zoda Drake, he grew up working hard in Dover where his father was a tenant farmer.
“When you grow up poor,” Drake said, “you can get out of it. You can work some, and God will bless you.”
The former owner of the Atlanta Braves is living proof of his own advice. He founded the cleaning service in November 1960 and, at its peak around 2007, he had about 95 employees working for him.
Beginning about 1965, his commercial endeavor landed industrial accounts, including department stores, shirt factories, schools and county buildings in Craven County and other large industries that were once area landmarks.
The economic downfall in 2008 has reduced the number of customers considerably. Still, the commercial cleaning business has continued to thrive.
Not only did it afford him the opportunity to own 95 percent of the Braves from 1989 to 1993, but he owned a Piggly Wiggly for six years and numerous other properties, many of which he still owns.
“This business, here, is what brought me the money to be able to do that,” he said about buying up real estate and baseball teams.
When asked about whether he could bring a league team into Kinston, Drake smiled and said, “I’ll leave that up to Cam McCrae,” the owner of Tands/Bojangles.
Even recently, Drake continues to add new businesses to his customer list, with a focus on cleaning carpets and stripping floors.
His purchasing a Piggly Wiggly on Old Snow Hill Road around 1988 started as a cleaning job there.
“I always tell everybody,” Drake said, “dirt is the best place to put your money.”
It worked for the cleaning business, but he was talking about investing in real estate.
Drake’s intention was to hand the business over to his son-in-law, Guy Boyd, daughter and grandchildren. But Guy Boyd recently died unexpectedly from a massive heart attack.
“The sad thing about it,” Susan Boyd said, tearing up, “we (five) were here together all the time.”
Drake and his wife Miriam plan to travel in their new recreational vehicle. But keeping one foot in the business, he said he will still use his office for handling real estate properties.
His daughter said he’s retiring, but not leaving.
“I’ve got a feeling he’s still going to check the books,” Boyd said with a grin about her father.
She and her children have worked at the business since all of them were in high school, and they plan to keep it running the same as Drake has run it.
“I’ve always been proud of him,” Boyd said, “and I’ve always admired him.”
Her admiration, no doubt, stems from his being a self-made success.
“I worked day and night,” he said, “and I didn’t get one dime from nobody.”
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.