Mr. Home Hardware retires after almost 60 years in the business

John Farrell, Mr. Home Hardware, has hung up the red shirt for good, officially retiring after almost 60 years in the business.
  Actually, he is sticking around for a couple of more weeks to help out while others are on holidays, but then ... he will say goodbye to Kincardine Home Hardware.

Surrounded by family, friends, customers and staff, Wednesday, at the store on Highway 21 North, Kincardine, Farrell said his goal was to retire when he was 70, and he just reached that milestone last month, so it was time to leave.

He had semi-retired after selling the business in 1999, but enjoyed the work so much that he stayed on, helping out the new owners even after the business changed hands a second time.

Farrell began working in the hardware business when he was 14 years old.

His family lived east of Tiverton on the Glammis Road until his father died in 1962. Then, he and his mother and brother moved to Kincardine.

In the fall of 1962, after school, he walked into J.G. Ellenton and Son Hardware, in downtown Kincardine (where B&W Appliances is now), and was hired. It later became Roy Ellenton Hardware.

"When I first started, I was a merchandiser, and strangely enough, that's what I'm still doing now," said Farrell, with a laugh.
"I remember in that old store, we had dynamite sticks in the basement and blasting caps in the safe with the money."

He said the retail sales tax was figured out in your head and written on the bill, and the cash register was just used for ringing in the total.

When he graduated from high school, Farrell applied to Ontario Hydro but it was summer time and Roy Ellenton, who owned the business by then, wanted him to stay on because it was busy, so Ellenton gave him a raise, and Farrell continued in the hardware business.

In 1967, Ellenton's became the 131st store to join Home Hardware. Now, there are 1,000 stores.

Almost a decade later, in 1976, the business was incorporated to become Ellenton Hardware Ltd. and Farrell was allowed to purchase shares in the company. "Roy and I never shook on it, we just had a verbal agreement."

Ellenton's family was not interested in taking over the store, so in 1981, Farrell and his wife, Mary, purchased the business, and five years later, they purchased the building.

In 1988, they had the larger store built on Highway 21 North, and moved Kincardine Home Hardware there which is where it is still located today.

A decade later, in 1999, the Farrells sold the business and the building to Phil and Ann Carter, and Farrell stayed on as a receiver. In 2005, Brad and Melanie Pyke, the current owners, purchased the store and building, and again, Farrell agreed to remain on as a receiver.

Looking back over the years, he said there were some interesting times, interesting characters, and wonderful stories, many of which are not for publication.

"I thought I wanted to farm," he recalled. "My mom worked at Malcolm Furniture and at that time, there were only 2,800 people in town (former Town of Kincardine). There were three hardware stores, a lumber yard, a co-op and a Canadian Tire."

But he stuck with the hardware business and when they moved the store to the highway, they did the same business in a day as they did in a year at the old store.

"Back then, you didn't borrow money," he said. "What you made in the summer would hold you over the winter. A lot of farmers made up your clientele. I saw this area transform from being based in the agricultural industry to the nuclear industry.

"We used to be busy around 4:20 p.m. every day. Now, we're as busy at 9 a.m. as we are at 4-5 p.m."

Farrell said the store has been fortunate in that it always had good staff. "We had a lot of young people working for us but they were mature and hard workers."

Initially, in the store downtown, Farrell had only three employees, but at the store on the highway, he employed 17 workers.
"It was a big change for me, going from working at the store to having to be the employer and manage employees," he said.

His family has been among those employed at the store on the highway. 

He and Mary have three daughters: Sarah, who is married, lives south of Ripley and works at Rick Elliott Construction at Amberley; Peggy, of Kincardine who continues to work at Kincardine Home Hardware; and Valerie, who is married and lives in Burlington.

They also have five grandchildren.

So, what were the highlights of owning Home Hardware?

Farrell said it was watching the young people bloom as they met the public in the store. "Kids came in here with problems at school or at home and they were really shy. But through meeting people at the cash register, you'd see them come out of their shell."

Another highlight was keeping the business alive in the 1980s when interest rates were high and times were tough.

"You learned to control expenses," he said. "We built the new store just when Ontario Hydro was talking about cutting back. We were lucky in the hardware industry because people weren't building houses, they were renovating. We made it through those dark times in the 1980s and again in the late 1990s. We're proud of that."

One of the biggest challenges was building the new store on the highway.

"I was smart," said Farrell. "I stayed downtown and ran the store and let (local contractor) Don MacArthur build the new store."

Having a large employee base was challenging, he said. "You did a few things by trial-and-error."

He was fortunate to be associated with Home Hardware. "You're not a franchise, you're a dealer/owner of the business. That means you're more independent and that has great advantages because you can adapt quicker to changes in the marketplace and to requests from your customers."

Farrell said the main reason for the success of Kincardine Home Hardware over the years is the business was based on consistency and good customer service.

And his personal success is knowing when to retire.

In October, 2012, he received a Golden Hammer award, a Golden Wrench, and a watch from Home Hardware executives, in honour of his 50 years in the hardware business.

The good-natured, smiling Farrell said he will have no trouble filling his days once he has retired.

He and Mary are joining friends on a 17-day Hawaiian cruise from mid-April to early May. He has plenty of wood-carving, golfing, and curling to do, as well as piping with the Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band and helping out at the Kincardine Legion.

“I also have three grandsons in hockey and baseball, and two grandchildren in Burlington to visit,” he said. “I'm going to be busy.”

Farrell admitted he will miss seeing customers at the store, but that feeling was more prevalent 20 years ago when he sold the store.

“It'll be great to have him home,” said Mary. “We have plenty of things to do and places to go.”