[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13582-13583]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING SOLENBERGER'S TRUE VALUE HARDWARE STORE

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                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 12, 2013

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Winchester, 
Virginia's oldest hardware store, Jno. S. Solenberger True Value 
Hardware. Solenberger's Hardware is celebrating its 125th anniversary 
this week.
  Solenberger's was founded by John Solenberger and Daniel Stouffer in 
1888 and can be found today at 832 Berryville Ave., where it sells a 
large variety of products at competitive prices.
  The store employs over 30 people from the Winchester community and 
has been proudly run by the Solenberger family since its inception, now 
spanning five generations. Currently, nine of John Solenberger's 
descendants work for the store and one, Cyndi Thwaite, still serves as 
president.
  Solenberger's has been a constant for the community through the ups 
and downs of the last century and has proven itself a positive force 
for Winchester and its residents. I wish the Solenberger family the 
best of luck in continuing the family tradition.
  I submit the following article from the Winchester Star on 
Solenberger's Hardware's unique place within the community.

               [From the Winchester Star, Sept. 7, 2013]

                   Hardware Store Is a Family Affair

                            (By Sally Voth)

       Winchester.--The city's oldest hardware store is throwing 
     itself a party today.
       Solenberger's Hardware (Jno. S. Solenberger & Co.) is 
     marking its 125th anniversary this week, capping it with a 
     car show today from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
       The event will also feature a bounce house, bungee run, 
     food vendors and door prizes, said Patti Solenberger, 
     director of marketing and merchandising.
       Her husband John Solenberger is the great-grandson of the 
     hardware store's founder, John S. Solenberger.
       The store got its start in 1888 as Solenberger & Stouffer, 
     at Baker and Cameron streets. Solenberger's cousin Daniel 
     Stouffer was the co-founder.
       After the original store was destroyed by a fire in 1908, a 
     new one was opened at 142 N. Loudoun St., dropping Stouffer 
     from the name, Patti Solenberger said.
       The business would stay in that three-story building for 
     the next 85 years.
       In 1993, Solenberger's Hardware bought its current store at 
     832 Berryville Ave. The 50,000-square-foot building had 
     formerly been a Heck's and an L.A. Joe's, company Vice 
     President John Solenberger said. His father John T. 
     Solenberger died just before the store moved.
       About 40,000 square feet of the space is used for the sale 
     of items ranging from tools to plumbing and electrical 
     supplies, lawn and gardening equipment, kitchenware, fans, 
     soaps, hats, candles, grills and even toys.
       ``We have to satisfy everybody,'' Patti Solenberger said.
       Today, nine of John S. Solenberger's descendants work in 
     the store. Great-granddaughter Cyndi Thwaite is the store's 
     president.
       ``We've got a fifth generation now,'' John Solenberger 
     said.
       But he didn't grow up assuming that he would one day help 
     to run the family business.
       ``I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid,'' John 
     Solenberger said. ``The more I worked [here], the more I 
     enjoyed working with the people. Just the fact it's a family 
     business and being able to keep something going that's been 
     there generations.''
       While Solenberger's has had industrial locations selling 
     transportation products and bearings, it now handles those 
     products from the back of the store, John Solenberger said.
       Along with family members, about 30 other people are 
     employed at the store.
       While working with relatives is mostly good, it has its 
     drawbacks, John Solenberger said. ``You never stop talking 
     about it,'' he said of hardware-store related conversations.
       ``I love working with him because he's a great guy,'' said 
     Patti Solenberger, who has worked at the store since 1993. 
     ``I respect him so much. It's been a great 20 years. We all 
     for the most part get along.''
       Thwaite has been company president for 20 years, although 
     she said she and her younger brother are more like co-
     presidents.
       ``We're very, very proud,'' she said. ``It's something that 
     I guess when we were kids we never thought about. We never 
     thought about being here for 125 years.''
       Like her brother, going into the family business wasn't 
     part of Thwaite's original plan either. She changed her mind 
     after doing some student-teaching.
       ``My dad and I worked very well together,'' Thwaite said.
       The siblings have seen some changes in the hardware store 
     business over the decades.
       ``Back 30 years ago, we were one of the only ones in town, 
     and people had more of an allegiance,'' Thwaite said. ``And 
     you don't quite see that as much now as you did back then. 
     Same with employees. We've been very fortunate that we have 
     such long-term employees.''
       In fact, two employees--Jack Shiley and Sam Riley--have 
     more than 55 years each under their tool belts at 
     Solenberger's.
       While the arrival of Lowe's and The Home Depot in 
     Winchester concerned them at first, the Solenbergers said 
     their business hasn't really been hurt by either.
       ``I think people automatically assume we would have an 
     adversarial relationship ..., but they're so good to us, and 
     we're good to them,'' Patti Solenberger said.
       Each carries items unavailable at the other, she said.
       ``I don't think there's a day go by we don't have somebody 
     coming from Lowe's, or we send somebody,'' John Solenberger 
     said.
       The family is working on an ``antiquities corner'' at the 
     store to display some of its oldest items. These include a 
     gold-leaf store sign, an oak desk, a carriage lantern, a nail 
     bucket, a key machine, a radio and sled runners.
       ``These are just things we found when we cleaned the store 
     out downtown,'' Patti Solenberger said.

[[Page 13583]]

       When Sam Riley, 74, started working at Solenberger's 55 
     years ago, customers had accounts, and would be billed. Sales 
     of more than $100 had to be approved by Solenberger.
       Riley has been a part-time employee for a few years, but 
     plans to continue work if he remains healthy.
       ``I never got out of bed hating to to work for 50-some 
     years,'' he said. ``There was a lot of nice people. The 
     Solenbergers are very nice people to work for. I'm on the 
     fourth generation [of] Solenbergers. I worked under the 
     second generation of Solenbergers, and that was Hugh and 
     Herbert.''
       ``You've got to enjoy your work. I've enjoyed it for 55 
     years. It's been a good ride.''

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