Passing the Baton

A historical past and a bright future define Jasper’s longtime business, S&W Powersports.

Words by & Images by Justin Hunter

It’s been over 77 years since Audie “A.C.” Wilson came home from World War II and exchanged the weapons of war for the hardware of civilian life. He and his dear friend, Harry Sherer, established a hardware store in the heart of downtown Jasper. The business was called “S&W Hardware”—the “S” for Sherer and the “W” for Wilson.

For years, the store sold nothing but hardware but would expand its inventory to accommodate the booming 1950s middle class. The wartime rationing was over, and S&W Hardware was the place to spend money.

By the mid-1960s, the store expanded its inventory from essential hardware tools, firearms, boats, and household appliances to Honda motorcycles. Around 1970, Sherer left the business. He desired a career in local politics and sold his portion of the hardware store to A.C. The Wilson family kept "S&W" as the business's name to pay homage to the founders, Sherer and Wilson.

"We kept the name "S&W" because it had been around for 25 years. And we continue to be "S&W" even though there is no longer an "S" involved," said Jim Wilson, current owner and the grandson of the store's founder.

At one time, Jim almost forsook the family business to become a dentist. He had worked at S&W while attending The University of Alabama and had his eyes on dental school after graduation. In 1975, however, Jim graduated from the university and decided to try his hand at the family business for a year. The Honda corporation convinced him to forgo dentistry, and the rest is history.

“In 1976, I purchased the motorcycle shop from my grandfather,” Jim says. “I enjoyed the motorcycle end of the business, even though I'm not a big motorcycle rider myself. I liked what it offered us as a retailer. He didn't really care for motorcycles, and I didn't care for hardware, but we ran the two businesses together. He’d eventually sell the hardware store and retire at 86 years old."

Over the last 45 years, Jim would build on the foundation his grandfather established. Under Jim's leadership, the business pivoted fully into the world of motorsports, changed its name to S&W Powersports, and relocated the dealership to its current location on Highway 78. The business’s current portfolio includes motorcycles, ATVs, side-by-sides, go-karts, scooters, dirt bikes, and watercraft. All vehicles are manufactured by Honda, Yamaha, and Trailblazer.

Jim operated at full tilt until the pandemic turned Jim’s heart toward retirement. Now he is readying himself to one day pass S&W to someone else. That someone is his son, Whit, who recently moved back to Jasper from Denver, Colorado, with his family.

"Last year, when I heard Dad talking about selling the business, it felt different for some reason,” says Whit. “My wife, Lindsey, and I worked stressful jobs with long hours in Denver. It didn't give us a lot of time with our first child. We had to decide to do what was best for our family: move to Jasper.  I would help Dad run the dealership here until he decides to retire in a couple of years.”

Whit hopes that once his dad ultimately retires, Jim will adopt his grandfather's retirement plan of visiting the store daily, eating lunch at the dealership, and leaving around 2 o'clock. In short, he is enriched by the presence, insight, and wisdom of his dad.

Until that time comes, Whit will continue dreaming about and formulating a plan for the future. His plan is ambitious and will position the award-winning motorsports dealer for another half-century of success. He says he eventually plans to relocate the business and build a larger and more modern dealership, ushering in the hardware business's final phase that his great-grandfather, Audie "A.C." Wilson, and Harry Sherer, established in downtown Jasper nearly 80 years ago. Yet, as ambitious as it sounds, it’s the same mentality that Jim had when A.C. passed the baton to him. "I told my son, Whit, what my grandfather told me when I wanted to move our business to 78 Highway. I'm too old to undertake a multiple-million-dollar project; you're going to have to be the one who bites that bullet,” Jim says.  

Regardless of the future, the generational aspect of the business continues to be the driving force behind S&W Powersports. It’s more than just a motorsports dealership or a watering hole for the Wilson men. It’s a place for fathers to celebrate their children and for those children to take the vision of their ancestors a little further down the line. 78