South Main’s Active Bolt & Screw Co. is famous for their unique logo. Have you ever wondered how in the world that winking, grinning, pose-striking screw got to be so … sexy?
We figured this minor Memphis mystery was worth a question to the owners and perfect for our occasional series here: Minor Memphis Mystery.
Active Bolt & Screw is a privately held distributor of fasteners and industrial hardware in the Mid-South. That means bolts, screws, nuts, and more. The company’s website says it’s been “doing it right and keeping it tight for over 60 years.”
The business started in 1959 with Robert Collie Sr. selling these products out of his station wagon. He eventually bought the old post office building on South Main in 1986.
Memphis fun-seekers weren’t likely an ordinary sight there back then. But anyone now heading to Ghost River Brewing Co., Loflin Yard, or even Central Station may glimpse that warehouse and its iconic sexy screw.
Turns out “The Screw Lady” was invented by Collie’s wife, Betty, who laughed to hear people thought her design was sexy.
Active Bolt & Screw is still owned and operated by the Collie family. Dave Collie, Robert Collie Sr.’s grandson, returned our email about the design, saying, “We get asked about the logo quite a bit.”
Here’s what he said:
“The original artist is my grandmother, Betty. When the business was first started my grandmother had three kids under 3 but would stay up to help with clerical work once the kids were in bed.
“One night my grandfather, Bob, asked her to come up with a company logo and that is what she designed. The logo has never had a name but always just referred to loosely as ‘The Screw Lady.’
“As for why she is striking that pose, you’d have to ask my grandmother … Haha. I told her that people that it was ‘sexy’ and she fell out in laughter. She said she never really thought of it that way. ‘Maybe eye-catching,’ [she said], but that’s a grandmother for you.
“In my opinion it is probably a bit of a self-portrait. From the photos I’ve seen, our grandmother was always dressed to the nines. High heels, mini-skirts, and lipstick. At 90, she probably still has her makeup and lipstick on while at the retirement center. They finally got her out of wearing high heels in her 80s.”
Minor Memphis Mystery solved.
