JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- The Model-T was the most popular car in America, radio was king and Heuser Hardware first opened in downtown Jeffersonville.
The Spring Street business will celebrate 100 years of serving southern Indiana customers on Saturday.
In 1923, the store's original owners — Jimmy Heuser, Frank Stutzenberger and John Kenny — worked for Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing in downtown Louisville. But they wanted to open their own hardware store in downtown Jeffersonville, so they decided to break off on their own. Heuser's brother, Willard Heuser, later joined the business, according to Indiana Landmarks.
The original store sat a few blocks away from the current location. In 1930, it moved into the newly-constructed O'Neil Building where it remains.
That decision payed off, with the local small business weathering the ups and downs of retail for the last century.
"It makes you proud. It makes you feel good," Bill Densford said about the hardware store being one of the oldest businesses still open in downtown Jeffersonville.
Brothers Tom (left) and Bill (right) Densford are the current owners of Heuser Hardware in downtown Jeffersonville. On Saturday, June 24, 2023, the store will celebrate 100 years in business. (WDRB photo)
Bill Densford and his brother, Tom Densford, took ownership of the store at the end of 2007, joining a total of 11 owners since the store opened. Both have worked there for decades.
"Community. That's what it's all about. They support us. It's not just customers that come in, it's our friends that we've known for a long time, and you try to help them out and it's a lot of fun," Tom Densford, who has worked at the store for 43 years, said.
Bill Densford has been with the hardware store for 33 years, following his brother who started working at the store when he was 17 years old.
"It's awesome. It's kinda mind-blowing, you know, to think 100 years that Jimmy Heuser started this to think 'is this thing going to last this long?' He probably didn't know it was going to last 100 years but it's pretty cool that it did," Bill Densford said.
The store, located at 523 Spring Street in downtown Jeffersonville, will celebrate 100 years in business on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with good food — such as brisket and macaroni and cheese, cotton candy, music from a live DJ and door prizes. Everyone is invited to stop by for the festivities.
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