Michelle Willard, Daily News Journal, April, 3, 2016
A view of Haynes Hardware’s original location on the Public Square in Murfreesboro. The store relocated to Memorial Boulevard in 1989.
Many things have changed in the 95 years since Haynes Hardware opened in downtown Murfreesboro.
Since the family owned store opened its doors, the city’s population jumped from about 5,000 to more than 120,000.
After 68 years, Haynes Hardware moved to Memorial Boulevard.
And there have been 15 presidents since Warren Harding took office in 1921.
One thing has stayed the same — the family behind the store and the service it gives to customers, said Cheryl Knight Schmidt, the fourth generation of the Haynes family to own the store.
Employees gather last Monday at Haynes Hardware in Murfreesboro. Left to right, front row: Jerry Sanders, Richard Schmidt, David Martinez, Meagan Kase and Andrew McMahan. Left to right, back row: Aaron Davis and Maynard Word. The store which began on the Square in Murfreesboro will be celebrating its 95th anniversary in April.
“I learned to treat people like you want to be treated,” she said was the most important lesson she learned growing up in the family store. “Relationships matter.”
The store’s relationship with the city goes back nearly a century to when C.N. Haynes and his son Tillman Haynes Sr. opened for business in the 1920s on the cor- ner of Maple and West Main streets on the Square.
In the beginning, the store sold everything from hammers and nails to wagons and wells, Knight Schmidt said.
A nail bin and a wooden counter are 2 pieces that were moved from the original Haynes Hardware location on the square to their current location on Memorial, in Murfreesboro. Photo taken on Monday, March 28, 2016.
(Photo: HELEN COMER/DNJ)
“Some things we carry now that weren’t even in existence then,” Knight Schmidt said, adding she remembers the store selling plows and wedding china when she was a child.
Over the years, the store passed from her great grandfather to her grandfather to her uncle Tillman Haynes Jr. then to her parents, Martha and Donald Knight.
“He was involved in hardware since 1951,” Knight Schmidt said about her father, who ran the store. After he died in December, Knight Schmidt and her brother, Don Knight, became sole owners of the store.
And just like her parents, her husband, Richard Schmidt, is the general manager.
She hopes her sons John and Matt Schmidt will follow the family tradition, she said.
John Schmidt is full-time math professor at MTSU who works part-time helping with marketing and business development at store.
Building a legacy
For most of Knight Schmidt’s life, the store was located on the Square, where Maple Street Grille and the law offices of Sandra Trail, Kent Coleman and Scott
Kimberly are.
H er fondest memories are of sitting in the windows on the second story and watching parades wind around downtown.
John Schmidt smiled thinking back to his childhood when workers would have to run to the basement or the attic to find uncommon items.
Haynes Hardware, which originally was located on the square in Murfreesboro, is celebrating its 95th anniversary in April. Photo taken on Monday, March 28, 2016.
(Photo: HELEN COMER/DNJ)
Now it easier to find inventory in the spacious building on Memorial Boulevard.
“We have a 100,000 items in our inventory, not counting screws,” he said. “If you count the screws, there’s probably 100,000 more.”
If they don’t have it, they can find it.
Because Haynes Hardware is a member of the TrueValue co-operative, customers can order anything their heart’s desire online, Knight Schmidt said.
The co-op, Schmidt said, helps the store keep up with demand by tapping into the purchasing power of the larger brand.
“We can do a lot of the same things the bug guys can do,” Schmidt said.
History is another thing the family owned store has that the big box stores don’t.
The Haynes family history has created deep roots in the community and strong relationships with their customers, Knight Schmidt said.
One her favorite things to do in the store is wander the aisles and listen to the employees answer questions and help customers find the right tools and materials for their projects.
“We do our best to give good advice and help people with their projects,” Knight Schmidt said.
A wooden counter and nail bin, are 2 pieces that were moved from the original Haynes Hardware location on the square to their current location on Memorial, in Murfreesboro. Photo taken on Monday, March 28, 2016.
(Photo: HELEN COMER/DNJ)
Along with the importance of relat ionships, Schmidt said he learned the meaning of hard work from his grandfather, who worked four days a week when he retired.
“We want the business to be what the community needs and we work hard to do that,” Schmidt said.
Reach Michelle Willard at 615-2785164, on Twitter @MichWillard or Rutherford County Business News on Facebook at facebook.com/DNJBusiness.