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Photo of Michele Newbanks Tayler Petty, 21, of Marietta, prizes the bandanas Tuesday morning at the Worker’s Store in Marietta.
Family owned from the start, the Workingman’s Store will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Thursday.
Dave Schramm, who has co-owned the store with his brother John and sister Susan Satterfield since 1982, recently found a document listing September 9, 1921 as the store’s opening day.
“It came on us all of a sudden” Schramm said of the birthday.
He said the store started in Montgomery, W.Va., and moved to 107 Greene St., Marietta, on May 21, 1926.
The store remained on Greene Street until a fire in the neighboring building in 1977, which severely damaged the store. Workingman’s Store was then moved to its current location at 113 Putnam St.
They had other stores in Parkersburg, Vienna, and St. Marys, but their Putnam Street store is now the only brick and mortar location.
The Workingman store was founded by Fred P. Bay and Will Koester and both owned it until the 1940s when Koester sold his share of the business to the Bay family.
In 1975 Joan Bay Schramm bought the business from her parents, Graydon and Thelma Bay, and Joan’s children inherited it when she died suddenly in 1982.
Schramm said when he left the service he had no plans to work at the store, but they asked him to stay “And here I am, all these years later.”
John worked at the store for many years, Schramm said, but Susan’s career took her on a different path.
Schramm said it’s the people who make the company successful. There are sales on the store’s website, but customers cannot get the same level of service.
“A lot of people are committed to buying locally and they want to spend their money locally”, said Schramm.
He said the store has also adapted to meet customer needs over the years.
“It used to be a general store and now we specialize in work clothes, uniforms, police uniforms, safety shoes and oilfield clothing… flame retardant is what we call” he said. “We also have our loyal clientele. You get a lot of good customers over 100 years.
He said the store has a lot of history, including 1940s and 1950s shoe listings.
“Let’s say your grandfather bought a pair of shoes, it would be on file … he would have paid $ 6.95”, said Schramm. “We have a lot of history, but the company is as good as the people who have worked here over the years. “
The Workingman’s Store is known for its selection of hi-vis apparel, scrubs and flame retardant clothing from brands such as Carhartt, Dickies, Justin, Red Kap, Rockport, Timberland Pro, Wrangler and Viking.
Michele Newbanks can be contacted at [email protected].
If you are going to
¯ Who: 100th anniversary of Workingman’s Store.
Where: 113 Putnam St., Marietta.
¯ Hours: 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday; close on Sunday.
Call: 740-373-5648.
Source: Worker’s store.
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