Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Gwen Hendricks, Hendricks Hardware
Sept. 20, 2023
By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University
Staying power. That’s important for any business, including those in small town Kansas.
Today we’ll visit a rural community with a business – and a business owner – that has truly demonstrated staying power. This remarkable lady is operating this business at age 97.
At right: Gwen Hendricks | Download this photo
Last week we visited Alma to learn about a resurgence of downtown businesses there, many of those businesses led by younger women. This week, we’ll meet a woman who operates another downtown business in Alma, but – with all due respect - young she is not.
Gwen Hendricks is the long-time owner-operator of Hendricks Hardware, along with her family. In its 145 year existence, this store has had only three family owners.
Conrad Mueller built the building in 1878. He used the front half for a billiard hall and saloon and housed his family in the back.
In 1883, he converted the building to a hardware store. It prospered when the railroad came to town. Conrad’s son, Gus, grew up in the business and eventually took over from his father. Gus operated the store for more than 50 years.
In north central Kansas, Marvin Hendricks grew up and went to high school with a young woman named Gwen. Gwen lived on a farm between the rural communities of Republic, population 82, and Webber, population 30 people. Now, that’s rural.
Gwen and Marvin married and moved to a farm south of Alma in 1947.
In 1951, Marvin took a job working at the hardware store. Owner Gus Mueller was looking to retire. Marvin soon bought the business and it became Hendricks Hardware.
“His doctor had told him to get off the farm and take it easy,” Gwen said. “He came here and worked harder than he ever had before.”
Marvin and Gwen had a daughter, Ann, and two sons, Larry and Don. When the young children got older, Gwen came to the store to help as well. Marvin expanded and diversified the business, doing plumbing, heating, and electrical work. Gwen served customers in the store and kept the books – as she is still doing today.
All three of the children helped with the business. Larry is now retired and Don has his own construction business which works well with the hardware store. Marvin passed away in 2012.
In October, Gwen Hendricks will turn 98 years old. She still operates the store daily and walks the two blocks to work each day.
Don’s construction business uses computers, but Gwen’s does not. “I don’t know how to run a computer, and at this point, I’m not intending to learn,” she said.
Bills are meticulously filled out and mailed by hand. Gwen has six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
She has seen incredible changes through the years.
“When we first started, freight came in on the train and a drayman delivered the supplies around town,” Hendricks said.
When was the last time you heard about a drayman?
“The train would bring first class mail twice a day,” she said.
Today, the Blish-Mize company of Atchison is their primary supplier. The hardware store continues to operate in its original stone building, which is the second oldest surviving building in the Alma downtown historic district.
The store offers a variety of hardware, toys and building supplies, plus household items, greeting cards, and more. Across the street, their warehouse houses lumber and other building materials.
In 2015, Gwen celebrated her 90th birthday with a party at the store. A Blish-Mize representative presented her a plaque. In 2022, Hendricks Hardware celebrated 70 years in business. “People say they appreciate us being here,” Gwen said.
For more information, search for Hendricks Hardware on Facebook.
Staying power. It’s a sign of commitment, adaptation and resilience, and it is an essential part of long-term business success.
We commend Gwen Hendricks and all those in the Hendricks family for making a difference with a deep and continuing commitment to serving their community. That is powerful.
And there’s more. The local museum is undergoing a renovation – and in doing so, made an unexpected find. We’ll learn about that next week.
Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at http://www.kansasprofile.com. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.huckboydinstitute.org.
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