A narrative by Ren Adkins
It all started in the summer of 1971 over a cup of coffee at Carl’s Motel. Fred and Donna Wilson ran the Parsons Hardware, an American Hardware franchise owned by Junior Anglin, who also owned the same in Philippi.
Fred and I liked to talk about cars, guns and pre war Remington pocket knives. We took our conversation to the motel for a coffee break and during the chat he mentioned his boss was building a new store in Philippi (The Builders Center) that he and Donna would be moving back home and Parsons would be for sale, I quipped I’ll buy it.
At that time I was the local manager of the telephone office here. I knew they were closing all the local offices and I would be moving to the Dulles Airport then called the Data Center. I vowed I would not raise our two boys in a city. Fred allowed it wouldn’t be any problem getting the money for the store, that Bill Harmon was his friend, that he washed his big black ’48 Dodge car and was his friend. Needless to say, a trip to the First National Bank, I told Bill what was up and Bill’s famous words were, “I’m going to take care of our local people before you outsiders.”
The Small Business Administration (SBA) agreed to the loan with sponsorship of the then Tucker Bank guaranteeing 10% or $47,500. To secure this 10% the bank took a loan on our near newly home on Blackman Flats, a loan on a nearly new one ton Chevrolet truck and a loan on our personal car for seven and one half years. They also checked the inventory on our shelves every Friday night. I remember one Friday night we were quite busy and we were short two gallons of paint. We had just sold them and they told me they need filled up, I told them if they wanted them full to stock them yourselves. They left us alone after that.
I remained with the telephone company full time the next three years to make sure they didn’t take our home with Betty, Louise Teter and Lindsay Flynn running the store. I just worked nights, and weekends, mostly loading and unloading. During this time I got transferred to the state office with the telephone company as business office manager until we felt we could make it at the store, this was 1974.
At this time we got into more building supplies much more and bought the old Tucker County Building Supply, where we are now located. Ed Wilfong had just closed a furniture appliance store there.
Karen Kines (now Hockman) came with us fresh out of high school in 1977 which means she just celebrated 40 years with us.
Betty and I were just reminiscing the other day with the ladies working the store, many men especially allowed they didn’t know anything and they would wait on me to wait on them. I would tell them I don’t know, ask the young girl Karen, they soon found out she could thread pipe, cut glass and mix paint they finally came around.
They now know if they need help with specially replacement windows, plumbing, electric, billing or anything else, see Karen.
Lenzie Flynn was instrumental in helping get things rolling in the early years. He knew everybody and could do most anything. He was always busy doing something we still have tables, glass storage bins and other wood crafted displays he made.
Everything used to be loaded and unloaded by hand, trailer loads of roofing and cement blocks. Mark Warner commented recently, “I remember when you used to unload 100 pound bags of cement and mortar truck loads by hand.”
Both our boys were raised in the business and 46 years they are turning gray headed like the rest of us.
We still have our customers whom we have served since the opening and when one of them passes we miss them dearly.
The flood of November 5 1985 changed the lives of everyone affected. Many lost not only their homes but artifacts of family and children of the past. Many came in with tears in their eyes but they wanted to know who needed their help, have you heard from this person, that family needs help.
John Foster called saying, “Ren, the water is really coming up downtown. Betty and I and the boys went down to her craft store on Front Street and stated to set stuff up higher on the shelves, when Richard Harper came by to help and said his house just went down the river and allowed we’d better get out. The next morning we found out everything was lost.
Chuck Dumire was out all over the town in a monster loader hauling families in the front bucket. He worked many days without rest, helping people.
Back down at the Home Center on Rt. 72 the water was up to the white line in front of the store. There was 5-6 feet in the basement meaning everything that wasn’t upstairs went down the river or was ruined. We did accumulate a skunk on a lumber pile, someone said shoot him before he is disturbed and he won’t stink, wrong, for the next two weeks now we did suffer.
We saw a lot of suffering and a lot of pain but we also saw a lot of bonding and togetherness. There was a few people who took advantage of the charity from out of the area affected, but be assured they haven’t been forgotten either.
The Adkins family, along with Karen, Riley and Jason Lipscomb and many, many other friends wish to thank all of our many years of customers for your service.
