Just a few minutes commute for Madison residents and a stone’s throw away from the Ottawa bridge, Lumberjacks Hardware Store is planning their grand opening celebration of The Country Front Porch.
Around these parts, everyone - and everything – has a story to tell.
“Lumberjacks,” Manager Donna White explains, was the CB name that co-workers of Dennis Craddock, the owner, gave to him when he worked in the coal mines running a loader.
Family appears to be very important component of Lumberjack’s. In the back of the store, an entire living space has been reserved for Donna’s children.
And what separates those living quarters from the rest of the retail store is a panel of windows that came directly from her grandmother, Gladys Elkins, home.
“They’re about 70 years old,” White shares.
Donna chose to incorporate the windows into her store as a product display and is calling the designated area devoted to home interior items as “the country front porch.”
The country front porch offers items not typically found at a hardware store, such as country ruffle curtains, Belle Taylor purses, tapestries, birdhouses, potpourri, framed pictures, knickknacks, and quilts.
“I have two new quilt suppliers, for a total of three quilt suppliers. What is interesting about the quilts I sell is that they are 100% cotton quilts and you can not find these at WalMart,” White explains.
White also identified a new trend among area residents to send quilts to funeral homes in lieu of flowers. Perhaps since flowers will eventually wilt and fade away, and quilts offer years of comfort, they are gaining popularity as a gift item, White speculates.
“The quilting concept is as old as people are on this earth. On the Mayflower, they used to hang up quilts to divide their space, to make ‘rooms,’” White explained.
White said she would like to eventually offer area quilters with fabric, threads, and batting supplies and a quilting club after the first of the year. She also would like to expand the sporting goods section of the store, and add on a scrap booking section for men and women creating scrapbooks of their families’ histories or special events.
These would be in addition to the key cutting, CB radio repair, and basic hardware items currently provided.
“We’re on the list with the DNR to offer fishing licenses. And a lot of people don’t know that we offer CB repair work,” she said.
According to White, all vehicles traveling on a coal mine site are required to have a functioning CB radio.
David Craddock, a retired coal miner, currently works as the CB Radio repairman at Lumberjacks.
When he’s not behind the counter working on a CB or cutting keys for area residents who have misplaced or broken their keys, he might be found resting in one of the wooden rocking chairs that line up along the inside front of the store.
In these same chairs many aspiring singers and talented musicians have gathered in crowds for a bit of “hoot ‘n hollerin,’ ” says White.
Over the next month, White says she is focusing on doubling her inventory as she prepares for an October Open House and Grand Opening Celebration that will include hot dogs and local entertainment.
For area residents looking to make a difference locally, Donna encourages people to stop by Lumberjacks and inquire about the dog food and items they can purchase for use at the newly formed no-kill animal shelter in Boone County.
The shelter, she says, was started by area resident Trisha Bragg, and Donna says the shelter uses a lot of paper towels, dog chains, and dog food.
“Trish wants to feed her animals a particular brand, so we have that available here. If you tell us you are buying this for the shelter, we will not only give you a discount on it, but deliver it to the shelter at no additional cost,” White said.
Contact Joanie Newman at jnewman@coalvalleynews.com or call 304-369-1165.
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