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When Ferndale Dairy
was destroyed by fire in 1969, Graham sought a second career—the
hardware business. He and Lois bought South End Hardware 1973. With
the capable and dedicated assistance of Ronald Patrick they served
the community. Their most notable business memory is of the day
after Christmas in 1986 when over 100 of their customers and friends
joined forces to move the entire contents of the store to its’
present location at 1164 Meriden Waterbury Road., By the end of that
day the merchandise was on the shelves in the new store without an
interruption in business.
Lois and Graham were
always lending a hand, giving problem solving and fix it advice,
loaning tools to customers for a one time job, and showing concern.
Many have heard Graham say “Let me give you some fatherly advice”
regardless of the recipient’s age.
Graham was appointed
to the Marketing Education Advisory Committee (DECA) of Southington
High School and was honored as one of their Blue Knights. For
several years he and Lois served as judges for the students’ state
competition for excellence in the Marketing Education program.
Lois joined in the
area CROP Walk for Hunger in 1980. For many years her sponsors
consistently made her the top fund raiser in Southington. Stemming
from their church involvement, Lois has knitted scarves for the
Seaman’s Project, over 50 lap robes for shut-ins, and shawls for the
Prayer Shawl Ministry. She seldom sits without knitting needles in
hand.
Lois and Graham began
their retirement career, full time volunteerism, in 1997 when their
son, Graham, Jr. and his wife, Kathy assumed responsibility for the
hardware store. They began by delivering excess bread and pastry
from the local outlet store to senior housing residents in
Southington and Bristol, the Bristol Salvation Army, and Bread for
Life in Southington. They also served on the Bread for Life Board of
Directors. While volunteering there they were introduced to
Foodshare in Bloomfield. This organization is a major source of food
for soup kitchens, food pantries and charities in Hartford and
Tolland counties.
Lois and Graham began
volunteering at Foodshare three days a week ten years ago. They have
each spent over 4,400 hours in the reclamation program inspecting
and sorting canned and boxed perishables. They also secure food from
Foodshare for Bread for Life, Bristol Salvation Army and Southington
social Services. They have put over 100,000 miles on their small
pick-up truck and have loaded, transported, and delivered over one
million pounds of food.
Locally Lois and
Graham help organize and maintain the contents of the Southington
Social Services pantries and storage areas and participate in the
annual postal food drive. They have helped in the Americare home
rejuvenation projects and are always available to help in their
church.
One of their great
pleasures is loaning their full size popcorn machine to local civic
organizations for special events. This is a replica of that first
popcorn machine that marked the beginning of their journey together
(remember that “cute boy”?).
When asked why they
work so hard they both say, “we enjoy giving back to the community
that has given us so much over the years”.
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