After almost 60 years, Macon’s House of Hines to close doors

If walls could talk – and houses, too –  the House of Hines could tell enough stories to publish volumes of books.

For the past 59 years, the formal wear business has fitted young men in bow ties and cummerbunds for prom nights. It has sent brides flowing down the aisle in wedding gowns, their chapel trains sweeping the floor behind them. 

The iconic Hines is closing its doors at the end of the month and taking a heartfelt piece of history with it.

The Big House, the home of the Allman Brothers Band, is five short blocks down the street on Vineville Avenue. 

But the House of Hines has been a “big house” in its own right. Generations of Middle Georgians consider it part of the fabric of their lives, and they have preserved those special moments inside picture frames and pressed on the pages of photo albums.

The Hines has had its share of self-preservation over the years, adapting to the ongoing challenges of changing times and trends.

Gone are the days when hundreds of tuxedos and gowns would fly out the door on Friday afternoons on their way to debutante balls and class reunions, then walk back on Monday to wait in line to be dry cleaned.

The late Hines Causey Sr. started his formal wear business on July 16, 1965, and he was still on the clock until his death in 2022. He would have celebrated his 93rd birthday this week.

The family has kept the doors open for the past 28 months as a way to honor their patriarch.

“It is his legacy, something he built,’’ said his son, Chris Causey. “He was proud of it, and we are proud of it, too.’’

He described his father as a “hard-working optimist” who named his business “House of Hines” because it was catchier than “House of Causey.’’ That irony was not lost on the family, since he always told them he was named after one of his mother’s old boyfriends. 

And it truly was a house. Hines and his wife, Bettie, lived upstairs, above the racks of shoes and pairs of matching cuff links.

It can be debated that Hines supplied formal wear to more customers than anyone in Macon’s history. But, more than that, he had an audience for the ages. He was well-known for his beautiful baritone voice, and he sang at more than 10,000 funerals and weddings in his career. 

He came from humble beginnings. He grew up on Ponce de Leon Avenue in South Macon and attended John W. Burke Elementary. He stammered as a child, struggling to form his consonants and vowels. His classmates teased him about his speech impediment.

But music had a way of smoothing those rough edges. He took piano and voice lessons. He sang in church choirs and participated in school plays and talent shows. He sang “In the Garden” and “The Old Rugged Cross’’  at his grandmother’s funeral. 

When he was a student at Macon’s Lanier High School, he was hired by Hart’s Mortuary on Cherry Street to sing at funerals. His paycheck was $3 to sing and $2 to drive the hearse. “How Great Thou Art” became his signature song.

His parents borrowed money to send him to the Martin Hall Institute of Speech Disorders in Bristol, Rhode Island. He spent six months in speech therapy.

“He was not allowed to talk for a month,’’ Bettie said. “He had to learn sign language, then start back speaking slowly and not be too fast with his delivery.’’

By the time he returned to Macon, he could recite the Gettysburg Address flawlessly. He dreamed of pursuing a music career, but he needed a steady job. He started working for the Central of Georgia Railroad, like his father, and continued his part-time job at Hart’s.

He would work the graveyard shift at the railroad, then report for duty at the funeral home every morning. There were some days when he was requested to sing at as many as three funerals.

When the Central of Georgia Railroad merged with the Southern Railway in 1963, he was one of 800 people who lost their jobs. To make ends meet and provide for his young family, he worked four jobs to put food on the table and pay his $96 monthly mortgage.

“He owned a school bus, and he would park it in front of our house,’’ Chris said. “In the mornings, I would ride with him. I was his last stop after Tinsley (Elementary). He would drop me off next door at Riverside Methodist Church for kindergarten. 

“After driving the bus, he would sell insurance. He did funerals for Hart’s in the afternoon, then drove the bus again. He was all over the place. He would go home and eat supper, sleep for three or four hours then go to work at Streetman’s, where they made Keebler cookies. He would work the night shift, then hop back on the school bus for his morning route.’’

Because he sang at so many weddings, Hines recognized the need for another formal wear shop in Macon. In 1965, he opened the House of Hines at 770 Mulberry Street in the historic Solomon-Curd House. It was a two-story Greek Revival house built in 1838 and was once the home of Macon Mayor James Nesbit. It was owned by J. Freeman Hart, who founded the Middle Georgia Historical Society.

Chris would help his father after school and on weekends. And the business became much more than renting formal attire.  Hines often would pull double duty as a wedding director. He kept a florist and a caterer on his staff.

“He wanted it to be a one-stop shop so it would be stress-free for the bride and the family,’’ Chris said. “He would do the invitations and could supply the music.’’

Chris and his brothers, Vann and Scott, often would help their dad on Sundays.

“It was nothing for us to travel to another town on a Sunday afternoon because that’s when a lot of people got married,’’ he said. “We would decorate the church and help set up for the reception. We had to go in right after the morning service, then break everything down and clean up before the evening service.’’

There was never an end to the work that needed to be tended. On Mondays and Tuesdays, Hines gathered the rented tuxes and dresses and took them to the cleaners (Starnes) he owned on Napier Avenue. 

“Sometimes I would go with him to spend time with him and keep him company,’’ Chris said. “We would load up the van and take it over there. When we finished, we would go to the Krystal on Spring Street. It was a special time.’’

An electrical fire heavily damaged the Mulberry building on Jan. 6, 1977, and Hines lost his entire inventory. The only salvageable items were a cash register and a few mannequins.

A lesser man would have thrown in the towel … not to mention a pair of trousers.

“I remember walking with him through the building after the fire,’’ Chris said. “Water was still dripping down. Everything he had built was gone. His insurance wasn’t nearly enough to cover what he lost. But he was an optimist. He told me that even though the fire was devastating he believed everything happens for a reason. When you are walking through a burned-out shell, and everything you have is gone, it’s daunting. But he started over.’’

  He reopened in February 1978 in the landmark house at 2028 Vineville Ave. It was built in 1890 and was the former home of Broadus Willingham, of  Willingham Mills. When Hines was young, he would ride by the house and admire the house from the road.

Bettie eventually left her job working for the local Social Security office to help her husband full-time in the business. Every December, the Causeys would host a large Christmas party at the house. In 2019, a warehouse fire wiped out the inventory of an estimated 3,000 tuxedos and accessories.

And Hines Causey started all over again.

“People have come in over the years and said they got their dress or their tux here,’’ she said. “Sometimes, they called me Mrs. Hines. They never knew our last name was Causey.

“A lot of people knew Hines because he sang. But this was his love … and it became my love.’’