John Hanley Morris Sr., who also served Jackson County as Justice of the Peace for more than 50 years, established the Sylva Insurance Agency in 1925. Lynn Hotaling noted in her book Sylva (Images of America) that Sylva Insurance was the oldest Main Street business in Sylva to operate continuously under the same name.

Phyllis Foxx, John Morris Jr.’s business partner and primary agent at Sylva Insurance, has been with the company for 50 of its 85 years. She said that when she began working at Sylva Insurance the business was housed upstairs in the old Sylva Supply Company, where Jackson’s General Store is today. Foxx said Sylva Insurance then moved down the street, above what is now Lulu’s restaurant.

“Velt’s Café, owned by Velt Wilson, was below us,” Foxx said. The next move was to 470 West Main, where Sylva Insurance is still located today.

“All those years, being upstairs on Main Street, we got to watch Sylva making history,” said Foxx. In the early days Sylva was very much a logging town Foxx said.

“Sometimes when we looked down we were afraid those big ole log trucks weren’t going to make it under the traffic light,” she said.

The company deals primarily in personal lines of insurance, Foxx said. And dealing with people face to face is something Foxx enjoys.

“I enjoy people and I enjoy Sylva. It’s home,” Foxx said.

And while some things have changed — policies are not as simple and straightforward as they used to be, according to Foxx — some things have remained the same.

“We have clients that have been here since I started working 50 years ago,” she said. And Foxx said it doesn’t matter if you’ve been a customer 50 years or it’s the first time you’ve walked in the door, you’ll be treated just the same.

“When I started to work I watched Mr. Morris and he treated everyone like family,” Foxx said. “And that’s still my philosophy today.”