Becker's Best Shoes is Built on Generations of Family Members in the Industry. Amy Becker Deconstructs How Ancestors Affect Her Business Today. Retail is in your blood. Tell me about how your grandfather influenced the work you are doing today. "My father's grandparents had the first mercantile in Mississippi. It was called McGrath & Sons in Brookhaven, which was known across the country for being on the train route to Chicago. They were one of the first retailers to put prices on merchandise. Back then, people bartered. Pricing made purchasing fair and simple. We're alike in that they had music in their store, which we also do twice a month. We hold fun contests in the fall and around holidays. We make retail fun. My grandfather, who was one of 12 children, worked for McGrath & Sons. At 14 years old, they would put him on a train to New York to buy goods. When he was older, he opened Benoit's women's clothing and accessories store. He would go to New York and buy product with specific customers in mind. When he later sold the store to my uncle, I would hang out in the back near the Coca-Cola machine, chatting with the women working there. My mother also had a women's clothing store, Betsy's Hanger, in Texas. People would travel from all over to come for her great eye and loose-fitting cotton clothing." You were a special needs teacher for a few years. What effect has that had on the way you do business today? "I taught kids that not everyone is the same, just like feet.