Friends helped retailer in hard times

WHO: Francis J. Murray of 6554 Patricia Drive and owner of Murray Trustworthy Hardware, outer LeRay Street, who has what he calls his personal "heartwarming" Christmas story.

YOU HAVE BEEN RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS HERE FOR NEARLY 25 YEARS, BUT YOUR ROOTS ARE NOT HERE IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, ARE THEY? "I grew up in Elmira. My father, John J. Murray, was a police officer in Elmira, and he died of a heart attack when I was 11. I graduated in 1966 from Notre Dame High School in Elmira, attended Corning Community College and then enlisted in the Army. I spent three years in Germany."

WHAT GOT YOU INTO RETAILING? "When I was a kid, I delivered newspapers and while I was a teenager I worked part-time at J.J. Newberry. I fell in love with the retail business. I entered their manager trainee program. While I was at Corning, there was the draft because of Vietnam, so I enlisted. After I got out of Army, I asked for my job back, and I was put in Newberry's at Ithaca for a year. I was assistant manager at the store in Corning for two months and then I was given my first store to manage, in Newport, Rhode Island. I was there for two years. They sent me to Ellsworth, Maine, where I managed a store four and a half years. By that time, Newberry's had merged with McCrory's.

"I had asked for a return to New York and when they opened the McCrory's store at Seaway Plaza in 1978, I drew the store."

AND THEN YOU DECIDED TO GO IT ALONE. "After being with Newberry's and McCrory's for 17 years, I opened Murray's Trustworthy Hardware in Seaway Plaza in March 1984."

YOU HAD BEEN IN BUSINESS BARELY A MONTH WHEN AN ARSONIST'S FIRE ON APRIL 30 DESTROYED FIVE STORES IN THE PLAZA. YOUR STORE SUFFERED SOME STRUCTURAL DAMAGE, BUT MOSTLY SMOKE AND WATER. "That was probably the worst period of my life. We are lucky we survived. We suffered a $32,000 loss in our first year of business. I was able to open in July, but I had lost my summer business. April, May and June are good months. And even after I reopened, the plaza was still a mess, construction equipment was all around us and we didn't have a sign. It was not a good opening. Business was not good.

"My insurance hardly covered anything. Since I hadn't been in business long enough, I couldn't get business loss coverage. I was only covered for product loss, and I had to fight for everything I got."

DID YOU CONSIDER CLOSING? "Everything I owned was tied up in the business. I had to make it work. And having that hardware store had been my dream since I went to work for Newberry's. We made it through with the help of a lot of good people and local businesses. Even customers helped us out. It was a tremendous outpouring.

That was the year the Cabbage Patch Doll came out, and my daughter wanted one so bad for Christmas. But I was broke. One night there was a knock at our door. Whoever it was had left, but there at the front door was a Cabbage Patch Doll. It was very heartwarming. I never really found out who did it but I have a pretty good idea.

OBVIOUSLY YOU RECOVERED FROM THAT EXPERIENCE. WHAT IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR BUSINESS CAREER? "When we opened the new store in 1993. We had a real good time. Business was great. Trustworthy Hardware designed the store (on Route 11, across from the entrance to Seaway Plaza), but with my touches. It doubled my floor space, and I wanted to do more things outdoors, my lawn and garden center, and that has been very successful."

ARE YOU STILL GOING STRONG IN THE FACE OF COMPETITION FROM TWO LARGE HARDWARE CHAINS AND TWO WALMART STORES? AND IN TODAY'S ECONOMY? "Our business is down. The pie has not increased with people but retail has grown by leaps and bounds. And it has been a little bit touchy since 9-11. Constant deployments of soldiers has taken its toll, and a lot of businesses that we did business with have closed.

"You have to roll with the punches. Skilled service is the biggest thing we can offer. Whether it is here or at Stratton Hardware or Noble Ace Hardware, you get help, the personal touch, when you get in the store. We give you a solution for your problem and we can save you money.

"So we are still making a profit. What we are going through now is not as bad as what we experienced after the fire, not even close."

ARE YOU LOOKING TOWARD RETIREMENT? "I'm 60 now, but I want to stay in business as long as I can, as long as my health holds up. I enjoy doing what I'm doing. It would be a real void in my life if I couldn't come down here, open my door and greet people."

YOU MENTIONED YOUR DAUGHTER. TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY. "She is Michelle Hitchcock now, and lives in Minneapolis. My son, William A. Murray, is in Syracuse. And I have Sandy Faylo, a real star in my life."

If you would like to suggest somebody for the Times Q&A feature, contact reporter Dave Shampine at dshampine@wdt.net.