Since 1909 Milledgeville residents have been able to shop at a downtown jewelry store and that tradition is not changing anytime soon.

The J.C. Grant Co. celebrated 100 years of business in Milledgeville Thursday with a ribbon cutting and party marking the milestone. The downtown Milledgeville jewelry store was filled with friends, family and well-wishers who stopped in to celebrate the achievement with the company.

“We have our sixth generation here,” Jean Graham said during the ribbon cutting, introducing her grandson to the crowd.

Graham, her sister Carol Vance, brothers Joseph Grant and Johnny Grant III all work with the jewelry store. Johnny Grant III (R-Milledgeville) is also a state Senator for the 25th District that includes Milledgeville. Johnny Grant Jr. and grandson-in-law Justin Jones work with jewelry and watch repair for the long-standing business.

“We’ve had 100 years,” Grant Jr. said. “I’ve only been here for 62 of them.”

Grant said that through the years, the business has tried to give top-notch customer service.

“We’ve tried to do a good job giving good service and good prices,” he said. “Service is lacking in most every business today.”

Grant said one secret to his success has been that he enjoys what he is doing.

“If you like it and if it’s fun, then the time flies,” he said.

Grant spent many years in public service with the City of Milledgeville serving as mayor. He said during his time he worked well and side-by-side with city employees.

“I will never forget taking delivery of a fire truck while wearing my Bermuda shorts,” he joked. “People would find me in a lot of places they weren’t expecting me to be. I worked with city employees and enjoyed it.”

Graham addressed those gathered to celebrate the business’s centennial and traced the earliest advertisement placed in the Union and Recorder to Sept. 7, 1909.