by Pauline Williams 

February 25,1973, married just two days I arrived in Chapel Hill from Athens, Georgia, ready to promote peace and the end of the Vietnam War with music. Athens was the home of Underground Records, and I met Richard Carter when I purchased Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 1. Owner Eric Brown envisioned a hippie record empire with stores in all college towns warehoused by him in Athens. To allow low pricing one practice was the absence of advertising though I often drew flyers which I posted in the UNC dorm elevators. In Eric's employ was a hard working teenager named Pepper.

Richard Carter and Pauline Williams in May of 1973 shortly after opening Springfield Records

Richard and I left Athens with a rental truck full of records, carpet and shelves. I drove my green Chevy Nova by which we procured a loan from FUNB for more record stock. Springfield Records named for Buffalo Springfield opened for business February 26, 1973, upstairs over Soundhaus Stereo in a large room painted black and lined with a wall of south facing windows. In a small front room just off the stairs Stu Martel had a great business making custom leather sandals, so Springfield Records enjoyed immediate hippie and student clientele. We lived for the first several weeks in the back room of the store which had a large hinged board in the rear wall opening onto the roof overlooking The Village Green of He's Not Here. This became important when we let the space to the original Trail Shop. The owner, a former Vietnam helicopter pilot, used the window to move canoes in and out of The Trail Shop. Later when Springfield moved to Franklin Street the record boxes slid easily down a ramp to the alleyway. We woke very early each day to the sound of the garbage truck lifting and redepositing the dumpster outside.

The group whose name gave Chapel Hill two of its best record stores

The Record Bar on Henderson Street was not to be deterred. Charly Mann was already selling below The Record Bar prices at Record and Tape Center in the NCNB Plaza, but Springfield Records was able to undercut Record and Tape by $1. i think there was a second Record and Tape store on West Franklin a short distance from the main block. Kemp Battle Nye sold records on the north end of Henderson Street in the basement of his store. University Mall was not yet built, and cars still parked at angles downtown. People jaywalked everywhere as traffic was relatively slow. Downtown Chapel Hill was rockin' with nightly bands at The Town Hall promoted by owner Michael Strong. South Wing led by Ed Ibarguen and Scott Verner with soundboard by Jeff Harrison played The Grateful Dead. Springfield Records was selling many discounted albums at that time including New Riders of the Purple Sage, Dylan, Crosby Stills and Nash, The Grateful Dead, James Taylor, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. We had an expanding niche, and business was good.

Friendly competitors: Charly Mann of the Record and Tape Center and Richard Carter of Springfield Records

To increase stock Richard took on as partner David Bourke, a friend from Charlotte who had recently returned from his tour of duty in Vietnam where he drove a jeep, a dangerous job in 1972. The draft was still in effect. To make ends meet I took a second job in the building across the alley on the west side of North Columbia Street turning out immaculate theses copies on an original Xerox copy machine to which loose granular toner was carefully added from a supply box. The business was Adam and Eve, Planned Parenthood, and I sold condoms and made Xerox copies. too. Bo Porter, our accountant, became the third partner, and I wondered what had become of my store. Bo bought out Richard and David soon after Springfield Record Company moved to its location on East Franklin Street upstairs over Lacock's Shoes and Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Store near The Shrunken Head. Bo later became the owner of The Cave after Springfield closed in 1975.

Richard Cater co-founder of Springfield, Buffalo, and Schoolkids Records, with Poindexter, and Madonna Bentz 1975

Knowing we should have had a better plan Richard and I reorganized calling up Peter Brown, Cathy Jones, Barbara Harris, and Pam Ramsey from Athens to open Buffalo Records in the old bank building next to The Carolina Theater in the spring of 1975. We ordered custom shelving from John Lindsey so that the overstock could be quickly accessed as we were moving boxes of 50 of certain new releases. We stocked all the pricey classical imports in the bank vault, and the jazz section was located behind the tellers' counter. Peter was responsible for the extensive jazz collection having worked for The Record Bar in Athens and having a deep appreciation of jazz. Richard would special order any lp the customer wanted. Buffalo Records was playing music, burning incense and displaying the colorful art of album covers from 10 AM to 9 PM and Sundays. We allowed customers to use headphones to listen to albums in the back room before purchasing. We had very little markup.

Richard and I would drive 5 hours to Athens and back overnight in our Chevy van to compete with The Record Bar which was readily stocked by the reps of the music industry. The Record Bar moved from its location on Henderson Street to the north side of East Franklin just across the street from Buffalo Records. Richard would buy all their stock of a new release when they priced lower than we could buy wholesale. Eric couldn't supply us fast enough, so we had to go outside the Schoolkids warehouse system buying from a one-stop in Charlotte to provide new releases before The Record Bar. First day sales were extremely important. We were losing ground to The Record Bar chain. Eric sent Pepper to Chapel Hill to open Schoolkids Records in Kemp's old location on Henderson Street.

Two of the great women of the Chapel Hill music business, Pauline Williams who co-founded Springfield and Buffalo Records with her friend Barbie Harris who worked at Buffalo Records and then went to work in advertising for the Record Bar

By May of 1976 I had to make the decision to close Buffalo Records putting my friends on unemployment and liquidating the remaining stock which we were unable to return for credit in a huge sale. Richard had taken up golf. Our daughter was born in late May at 5 PM, her weight being proudly displayed on the leader board at the new Chapel Hill Country Club members golf tournament. Shortly thereafter Richard Carter bought Schoolkids Records Chapel Hill store from Eric and reopened in the space next to Jeff's Confectionery, proprietors Jimmy and Paulina Mousmoules; their fountain cokes were made to order. Richard kept Schoolkids going until after our divorce when it was sold back to Eric in 1978. Pepper opened Pepper's Pizza in that location, and Schoolkids reopened next to Julian's and The Little Shop.

Thus ended my part in the Chapel Hill Record Wars. Peace and love, Pauline Williams

Photos are from Charly Mann's collection.