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JEFFERSONVILLE – Heuser Hardware celebrates its 100th anniversary in the Jeffersonville New Year.
The hardware store at 523 Spring Street opened in 1923 and has had 11 owners in 100 years.
During that time, the store bridged four bridges: the Great Depression, the recession, the Great Flood of 1937, and most recently the COVID pandemic.
Even in such a hardship, the shop has continued to open without change.
Heuser Hardware co-owner Tom Densford said: “COVID has obviously been a struggle, but we’re holding on. We’re hanging in there and still love what we do every day.”
Tom and his brother Bill Densford have owned the store since 2007. The two have worked at the store since his 1980s. Tom started working at the store when he was 17 and Bill started when he was 24.
Tom likened the store when he started it to a general store. They sold sporting goods, cooking utensils, bottle openers, and even wooden faucets.
The brothers were able to use their time and experience at Heuser Hardware to work their way to becoming co-owners.
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” said Tom. “We see each other every day, so we become close. I appreciate that.”
The road to ownership has been hard, but it’s also been fun, Bill said.
“Our boss took us from hardware to paperwork,” says Bill. “You have to be a bookkeeper, not just a hardware clerk. They have taught us a lot.
While the bridge was being built, Bill said some workers would come and buy materials from the store to put into the bridge.
The store has been part of many traditions over the years. More recently, they had a Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve, offering fried sausages and chili.
“We’ve been doing chili cook-offs for a few years, but not every year,” Bill said. “…his first three or four years won when Halloween in the park started.”
Over the years the shop was able to expand into the building next door. The expansion allowed the brothers to sell more goods.
In 2018, a mural was painted in honor of the hardware store. All his Heuser Hardware owners are pictured standing by the shop’s work truck. The mural is located on the floodwall near the Bristol car park on West Riverside Drive and was painted by John Neill.
Looking forward to the store’s future, the owner hopes it will continue to open and serve the community.
“We sell spacesuits and jetpacks and hopefully stay here for another 100 years,” Bill said.
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