Do You Remember Wholf Hardware?

 

From 1950 until 1995, the Wholf Hardware store was in business in the 600 block of Hancock Street. Alton “Bud” Wholf began the business. William Poeschl, Sr., a German immigrant, took over the business from Mr. Wholf in 1963. In an article in the Sandusky Register of March 25, 1984, Mr. Poeschl said that he did not change the name of the store because people would have a hard time pronouncing Poeschl, which sounded like “Po-Shell.” The major part of the store’s sales was basic hardware, like bolts, nuts, fasteners, hinges, and hand tools. Plumbing supplies were also popular with local customers. 

In 1984 about 300 customers visited the business each day. If you needed to, you could purchase just one nail or bolt at the store. If you had a problem at your house, you could go to Wholf Hardware, and the staff would help you determine just what you needed to make the necessary repair. Eventually Mr. Poeschl’s son and grandson helped run the business. Business began to decline at Wholf Hardware as larger retail stores began to carry more hardware products. At the end of April, 1995, members of the Poeschl family thanked local customers for their many years of patronage, as they announced the closing of the Wholf Hardware store in a letter to the editor of the Sandusky Register.  

In a two-page article in the July 5, 1992 issue of the Sandusky Register, Virginia Steinemann and Helen Hansen wrote about the history of the section of Sandusky around Hancock and Monroe Streets, which had been the location of several homes and businesses owned by people of German descent.

The paint stirrer pictured below is now in the collections of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

 

Businesses in the 600 Block of Hancock Street in 1888

In 1888, three different businesses were in operation at the southeast corner of Hancock and Madison Street in Sandusky. The proprietors of the businesses, along with family members and employees are seen standing in front of their stores.

August M. Koegele had a dry goods store at 600 Hancock Street. “Gents Night Shirts” sold for fifty cents, and yards of percale fabric sold for under $1.00:

John L. Rieger, who also built the Rieger Hotel in 1912, sold boots and shoes at 602 Hancock Street:

Claussen Bros. Grocery was located at 604 Hancock Street. Canned goods can be seen in the window, and brooms and baskets were for sale outside the store. An advertisement on the door read “Drink Grain-O.” Grain-O was a cereal based coffee substitute, popular in the late nineteenth century.

A variety of businesses were in operation at this location throughout the years. Wholf Hardware was in business at the 600 block of Hancock Street from 1952 through the mid-1990’s. This property is now privately owned.