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‘A lot of stuff to do:' From taking road trips to hosting concerts, Brent Davis is living life to the fullest
Brent Davis walks into Lambert’s Cafe in Sikeston, Mo., and almost every server greets him with hugs and smiles. He used to visit the restaurant often when he was a member of the Highway Patrol decades ago, and evidence of these close relationships lives on the walls, literally: A smiling young Davis in uniform is painted on the mural inside the dining room.
Now retired and living in Poplar Bluff, Mo., Davis still makes it a priority to maintain relationships with the Lambert’s staff. Throughout his life, he has lived on the principles of working hard and appreciating his “wonderful life.”
Davis grew up on a cotton farm in Dunklin County. His childhood was consumed with chopping cotton, weeding beans and driving tractors. Davis says he remembers grabbing his nine-foot sack and walking down each row, picking cotton with his hands. Seeing the end of the row while handpicking made Davis think, “Is this what I got to look forward to?”
At 24 years old, he joined the State Highway Patrol and started as a trooper in Sikeston. It was serious work, consisting of working on car accidents or delivering death messages, but Davis maintained a positive attitude through it all.
For a while, he kept the nine-foot sack from his cotton-picking days under his bed to remind himself of all the hard work he did as a child.
“I would think every time I got called out at 3 in the morning, there’s that pick sack under my bed, and I’d think, ‘This ain’t bad. I’ll go work that wreck,’” Davis says.
Davis did the work, and the promotions followed. He went from trooper to corporal, then transferred to Poplar Bluff to serve as sergeant. After he got in a bad car accident in 1991, Davis shifted to the role of public information officer before getting promoted to lieutenant. Davis says he looked forward to his job every day and “loved every minute of it.” Davis retired from the patrol at the age of 55.
The day after he retired, Davis immediately began working in real estate. He says he didn’t even take one day off between retiring and taking the new job.
“I love working, I really do. I attribute that to working as hard as I did,” Davis says. “Someone asked me the other day, ‘When are you going to quit?’ I said, ‘I guess when they tell me I gotta.’”
Now, Davis drives cars across the country for Baldwin Chevrolet in Poplar Bluff. If someone wants a car in Memphis, St. Louis or Texas, he will get it for them. Davis jokes his main responsibility with this job is to go “from point A to point B and not wreck it.”
One of Davis’ biggest projects has been restoring the Historic Rodgers Theatre in Poplar Bluff. The theater, built by the Rodgers family, originally opened in 1949. It was considered to be the finest theater between St. Louis and Memphis at the time of its opening. The building became a Kerasotes Theatre followed by an AMC Theatre until it was donated to Butler County in 1999.
Around 2007, Davis went to the Rodgers to see a stage play, and he says he was blown away by the space.
“I was standing out in the front lobby, and these people were talking on the stage, and I could hear them like we were sitting across from each other. The acoustics are so phenomenal in that building,” Davis says.
Davis discovered the county owned the theater, so he showed up at the county commission office with a plan. He wanted to host a country music show and donate all the profits back to restore the Rodgers. Davis hosted the first show in February 2008 and continues hosting shows up to this day.
Davis called the musical series “Opry at the Rodgers.” He says they started off with local talent and slowly booked more well-known artists like country music singers Narvel Felts and Gene Watson or comedian Lily Tomlin. When Tomlin was scheduled to perform, Davis tore down a wall in the auditorium to reveal 300 extra seats meant for smaller shows.
Now, the auditorium contains 1,000 seats, and Davis says the seats fill up fast. All the profits are donated back to restore the theater, which Davis says is a challenge, since “something would always break.”
Through funds raised, grants and donations, Davis says they have repaired the roof and installed a new sound system at the theater. The marquee tower is currently being repaired, but Davis says, “It’s so expensive, it’s incredible.” Davis is beginning to step back from his role with Rodgers Theatre Inc., the organization in charge of its upkeep, but he hopes to see the theater repaired and hosting weekly music shows.
Davis’ love for music goes beyond hosting concerts and listening to country music. For years, he has played guitar for his classic country music band, The Moon Pie Band. Davis says the band’s favorite saying is that they play “three chords and the truth.” In the past, they’ve played at weddings and events, but now Davis says the band plays mostly at church.
When he’s not driving cars for his job, hosting concerts or playing guitar, Davis enjoys traveling with his wife, Janet, throughout the United States and world. He says they’ve seen Ireland, the Mayan ruins, California and Bermuda. They’ve also snowmobiled in Colorado and have future plans to take their travel trailer to the Florida Keys and back.
Davis says he feels blessed in this life. He says he has a wonderful wife who “puts up” with him and his shenanigans, along with four daughters and stepdaughters. With everything Davis does, he makes the most of it, constantly seeking out new adventures, friendships and projects. He’s going on 72 years old, but he says he’s not slowing down anytime soon; he’s “got a lot of stuff to do.”
“This is not a dress rehearsal we’re going through, this is the real thing,” Davis says. “You just get one time through this thing, and you don’t get any do-overs. You’ve got to make the most of it.”