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| Photo by Karen Hamilton |
One of the most interesting buildings in downtown Romeo is the establishment attached to the back of the Masonic Temple with the words "W. Geo. Smith Hardware 1925" etched in white lettering. This can be clearly seen when on West Newberry and North Rawles Streets. It's been 100 years since that place has been in existence, and it has a fascinating history.
The W. George Smith hardware store opened on October 31, 1925 inside the Masonic Temple. The Romeo Observer wrote two articles about the place before and after the opening. The first was published in the October 28, 1925 issue. One can see it below.
For context, a Burpee Canner was a pressure cooker.
In the November 4 edition, The Romeo Observer wrote that the store's opening was a success with a large attendance. That's impressive given that it opened on Halloween. In addition, the event freely gave out cider, donuts, candy, and cigars, which would no doubt attrach people of all ages. Radio music also was a feature of the opening as more and more people were buying radios at the time. Weirdly enough, that article didn't mention the Burpee Canner demonstrations, but maybe it was already a given.
The proprietor W. George Smith ran that business until a fire closed it in the early 1940s. The store itself appears in the 1930, 1938, and 1940 Romeo Telephone Directories, but not in the 1943 one.
But what about W. George Smith himself? William George Smith was a hardware merchant. He was born in Swansea, Wales in 1882, and his family came to America in 1888 and settled in Rome, New York. Smith went to Detroit in 1898 and moved to Romeo in 1925 - the same year in which he opened the aforementioned hardware store.
According to his obituary, Smith moved to Almont after the fire to open a new hardware store. A short time later, he relocated his family to Willow Run, where he was employed. He later returned to Romeo and died on February 25, 1946.
During his lifetime, he was a member of the Almont Masonic Lodge; the Romeo Rotary Club, while in business here; and the Romeo village council. That's not shocking that he was a member of a Masonic lodge considering that his hardware business was in the Masonic Temple in Romeo. It's unclear why he didn't join the Romeo Masonic Lodge.
While the hardware store no longer exists, the building with the words "W. Geo. Smith Hardware 1925" remains because of good advertising.
Happy 100 Years, W. George Smith Hardware Store!
To learn more about W. George Smith and his hardware store, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890. If you want to search for articles on that topic, you can find the Romeo newspapers like The Romeo Observer on the Suburban Library Cooperative's Local History Digital Collection website.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, October 28, 1925, p.4; November 4, 1925, p.4; February 28, 1946, p.1; and May 14, 1986, p.1-B; Romeo Directories; and Ancestry
