As Stevens Carpet Inc. celebrates and commemorates its 50th year in business, the Stevens family looks back with humility and gratitude on the successes the store has been blessed with over the past five decades. The customers, relationships, and friendships forged over those many years formed a solid foundation on which success could be built.
Charles and Jacquita Stevens moved to Watonga in September of 1974 to start Stevens Carpet Inc. The oil boom had turned Watonga into a bustling small town in Northwest Oklahoma with many thriving small businesses. Places to live in Watonga were hard to come by at the time, so Charles had a two-bedroom mobile home moved into town. It was a tight fit for Charles and Jacquita and their combined seven children. A small Quonset hut was found just west of 4 Corners located on Highway 33 in which to open their new business venture. This would be home for Stevens Carpet Inc. until 1981.
The new flooring store was busy immediately.
Jacquita worked in the store selling and handling customers, while Charles was primarily installing all the jobs being sold. When the store was too busy for Charles to keep up with the installation, he would often call on one of his five brothers, who were also flooring installers, to come help. After their first year in business, custom drapes and wallpaper coverings were added to the list of products offered to customers. In the late ’70s, in an effort to keep up with the changing landscape of the retail flooring industry, hot water extraction (steam cleaning) was also added to the list of services. A second location was opened in 1976 in Kingfisher. The second location remained open until January of 2017.
In 1981 the store was moved to a building on Main Street, at the corner of Main and Weigle, where it is still located today. In the 50 years Stevens Carpet Inc. has been in business, they have sold and installed flooring for all kinds of customers, ranging from the smallest of residential jobs, to the largest of commercial jobs, including churches, banks, schools, and even numerous jobs at Vance Air Force Base in Enid. Stevens Carpet relied heavily on commercial work in the late ’80s and early ’90s to carry them through the aftermath of the financial and oil crisis of the early ’80s. Work was completed far and wide, including Charles and a young Brandon traveling to Crested Butte, Colorado to install carpet for Dr. Coot and Betty Nelson.
Over the years, customers became repeat customers, and today many of their children and grandchildren continue to rely on the Stevens family. The “Carpet Store” as it came to be known as, has been through ups and downs, fruitful times, and some not-so-fruitful times. Charles and Jacquita’s tenacity and perseverance, coupled with their strong faith in the Lord, always landed them right side up.
The Carpet Store has always been very fortunate to have great employees and installers throughout the years. If anyone worked at Stevens Carpet for very long, they became a part of the family. Rafael Campos, the store’s main installer, has been with Stevens Carpet for 28 years. He is a fantastic flooring installer and is a master at building custom showers. His work ethic, attention to detail, and pride in his craft is evident in the finished product. But his most admirable characteristic is the loyalty he has shown to Charles and Jacquita. He is not just an employee but a son, brother, and friend to the Stevens Family. Vicki Ice is the second longest tenured employee, having begun working at Stevens Carpet in 2001. Vicki keeps the bookkeeping and office side of the business running smoothly. She has also become a great salesperson over the years, relating well with customers and always ready to help in any way she can. She is invaluable to the Carpet Store and is just like a part of the family. Della Wallace and Mary Lou Rother have also been longtime friends and helpers at the Carpet Store, filling in when needed, and helping wherever they could.
Tragedy struck Stevens Carpet and the Stevens Family on August 7 of last year when Charles suffered a heart attack and eventually went to be with the Lord on August 17. With the loss of the founder and head of Stevens Carpet Inc., their son Brandon has assumed the duties of his late father. Jacquita and Vicki, along with Brandon and his wife Heather, have continued to run the Carpet Store, building on the legacy left behind by Charles while honoring his memory. With many questions arising each day, the answer is often found in one simple phrase: What would Charles do? That is what they aim to do every day they continue, with Charles always in their hearts.