Brownstown Hardware celebrates 114 years of service

Junior Wessel, who owns Brownstown Hardware, talks with longtime customer Peggy Rein of Brownstown on Friday during the hardware's 114th anniversary celebration.

Aubrey Woods | The Tribune

BROWNSTOWN — Junior Wessel went to work for Brownstown Hardware in 1949 after graduating from Brownstown High School.

A short time later, he joined the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

"I was in the medical corps, and we took our training here in the United States," Wessel said. "They said we were going to go over to Germany. That's usually where they shipped a lot of us and then on to Korea."

His unit's transfer to Korea was put on hold, and the war ended a short time later. After leaving the military, he returned to his job at the hardware store on South Main Street.

Wessel, who is 93, has been there ever since.

The back rooms of Brownstown Hardware are stocked with many of those hard-to-find items. The hardware has been serving the community for 114 years at 110-112 S. Main St. in Brownstown.

Aubrey Woods | The Tribune

Brownstown Hardware employee Dick Burrell, right, waits on Brownstown resident Jon Robison, who brought in a lamp for repair on Friday during the hardware's 114th anniversary celebration.

Aubrey Woods | The Tribune

Cody Hercamp, the son-in-law of Kim Lucas, grills food Friday for the Brownstown Hardware's 114th anniversary celebration. Lucas manages the day-to-day operations of the hardware.

Aubrey Woods | The Tribune

Brownstown Hardware has been serving the community for more than 114 years at 110-112 S. Main St. in Brownstown.

Aubrey Woods | The Tribune

The staff at Brownstown Hardware includes owner Junior Wessel, seated, and standing from left, Wessel's daughter and manager, Kim Lucas, Ricky Eggersman, Dick Burrell and Justin Nichols.

Aubrey Woods | The Tribune

Brownstown Hardware is stocked with many of those hard-to-find items. The hardware has been serving the community for 114 years at 110-112 S. Main St. in Brownstown.

Aubrey Woods | The Tribune

On Friday, a 114th anniversary celebration featuring free lunch for customers and prizes was held. Wessel was on hand for the celebration even though he turned over day-to-day operations to his daughter, Kim Lucas, about 15 years ago.

Wessel said a neighbor helped him initially get the job at the store.

"After I went into the Army, the boss here said I had my job when I came back," he said. "I decided to see where it would go. I thought maybe I would go to college some after I got out of school, but it was pretty expensive."

Wessel said he thought about becoming a veterinarian or something similar but decided to stick with the hardware business.

He said he really don't know why he decided to remain with it for 74 years.

"I really like meeting the people and doing things with my hands and being able to help people," Wessel said. "I did a lot of things. When I first started here, they were putting in furnaces, and also, they were putting on roofing."

The hardware also later carried refrigerators and other appliances and sold and repaired water pumps.

"We did a little bit of everything," he said.

The hardware still offers a lot of services that are hard to find at bigger discount stores.

"We still cut window glass here," he said. "We cut iron pipe and thread it for people."

The hardware also is good about trying to obtain those hard-to-find items for customers.

"If there is something we think we can get, we get it for a person," Wessel said.

He said he has never given much thought to retirement, but he has cut back in the past 15 years to take care of his wife, Donna.

"I come in and if Kim needs to know something or wants me to help her order something, like a water pump, I can help her a little bit," he said. "Maybe I can sit on a chair and help her. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but I am still here yet."

Wessel said although newspaper accounts show there was a Brownstown Hardware 114 years ago (1909), they feel like it might have been in place at the same location even earlier.

"… because they sold a lot of farm implements, old plows, horse-drawn things," he said. "They had a ramp in the back where you could bring them in here. When we were first here, we would find old mowing cycle parts and stuff like that around. It could have been an implement store."

According to the June 23, 1909, edition of The Brownstown Banner, the Hamilton hardware store was closed several days that week while the stock was being invoiced in preparation of selling the store. The new firm was to be known as the Brownstown Hardware with Messrs: Fred Stienkamp and George Beikman (sic) in charge.

The Banner reported they are two of our enterprising young German citizens and we bespeak for them a successful business. Harry Hamilton, who has had charge of the business since the death of his father, M.M., will clerk for the new firm.

Other stories in The Banner show Hamilton hardware store was existence since at least 1902.

A lot has changed in the hardware business since those days.

Lucas said Brownstown Hardware has been able to compete with the big box stores in recent years and will continue to do so by offering something most bigger stores don't do as well — service.

"We hope to just offer service when they come in the doors we start helping them," she said.

Lucas said Brownstown Hardware has a lot of loyal customers.

"They tell us every day that they are glad we are here," Lucas said. "We hope we can stay in business. We try to treat people the way they want to be treated and the way we want to be treated. We try to help them help themselves. If we can get them something or get the piece they need, they can go home and fix whatever is broken."

Lucas said the store also tries to keep up with the new products that have been coming out so they can keep things up to date and compete with the big box stores.

"Sometimes, you just need that old thing," she said. "It's getting a little harder to get some of those old things, but we sure are trying."

As a woman in what once was a male-dominated business, Lucas said she just tries to establish trust early on with customers.

"Some people, if I haven't waited on them before, they don't know if I can help them or not, but after awhile, I take them to where they need to go, ask a few questions and then I wind up getting what they need. I kind of build their confidence," she said. "I don't know everything, and I don't say I know everything. Nobody does. If I know, I want them to go home and use the product and get their job done."

Lucas grew up in the hardware business since her father has spent so many years there.

If her father is any indication, Lucas may have a few more decades running the show.

Lucas said her involvement began about 30 years ago when her dad and uncle, Bill Wessel, bought the business.

"He needed some help, so I quit my job to come and work for him," Lucas said.

She liked the hardware business.

Brownstown resident Peggy Rein, who once owned a business a few doors down from the hardware, said her daughter once came to town at Christmas when there was a lot of snow on the ground and didn't have a Christmas present for Rein's mother.

"I said, ‘Go right there to the Brownstown Hardware. They have free gift wrapping. You will love it,’ and she did, and the first thing my mom said was ‘This came from the Brownstown Hardware.’ She was so excited," Rein said. "I tried to teach all my kids that this is a leaky bucket if you don't invest in your community. When you invest in your community, every dollar you spend gets recycled six times in your community."