Worland True Value closing

WORLAND – With a heavy heart, Lowell and Punkie Peterson are retiring and closing the Worland True Value Hardware store located at 413 Big Horn Avenue.

"As the town keeps shrinking it gets to having fewer and fewer customers. For years there were just two of us in town and now there are five that carry hardware. So the pie has gotten split in more pieces. You know that was the hardest part (closing) because we've really tried to sell it (the store) and we really did not want to see Worland lose another business but at the same time we can't keep supporting it either. We have to do what we have to do and move on," the Petersons said.

"Plus we are getting old and tired, we are both in our 70s," Lowell Peterson added.

Owning the hardware store has enriched the couple's lives tremendously. "We have met lots of neat people. Yeah that's probably our biggest reward of 30 years at True Value is all the wonderful people that we have gotten to know and we got to grow with their families. We've seen babies born and babies grow up and weddings and now a lot of these kids that had weddings they are raising their own families and in 30 years you see the whole thing. We've cried with a lot of people that have lost loved ones or you find out that one of your best customers has a terminal disease. Our customers have been the most rewarding thing of the whole 30 years," the Petersons stated.

One of the fondest memories that the Petersons have is Christmas time at the store. During Christmas Worland True Value would have a different theme for the entry way. The entry way was over the years transformed into a candy shop, a Victorian home, a little cabin and a variety of winter themes, the Petersons said. "We've done lots of different themes in that little space in that entry way but it's been fun, a lot of fun and these are things that we will miss doing ... maybe not the work," Punkie Peterson stated.

Decorating the entry was just the beginning of the Christmas decorating for the store. "We've always decorated for Christmas and I have to say that we had customers over the years that came down just to see how we decorated the tree, what color theme we'd used, which has been really nice. I always picked out what I wanted and Carol (Kraft), my office girl has always done the labor for me. She's always put the trees together and I have to say that I would put my trees up against the big places in Billings because Carol has always done a beautiful job putting them together for me," Punkie Peterson said.

The business over the years saw a lot of changes, some positive and some negative with the introduction of the internet and cell phones. Cell phones have helped in departments like the plumbing department because people can bring in a picture of what they need or send their wife in with a picture, the Petersons said.

But the internet has really affected the housewares department. "We've always tried to keep a pretty strong kitchen appliance section and gift section because we used to get lots of wedding registries and so we used to sell lots of gifts for weddings, that has really changed over the years because they register online now instead of at a local store," Punkie Peterson said.

The houseware department has saved many a man and boyfriend throughout the years. Punkie Peterson stated, True Value has always carried a little bit of housewares. Housewares is needed for the man who suddenly remembers that it's his anniversary or wife's birthday and he hasn't gotten anything yet. "We help him figure out what to get so that the poor guy can go home and not sleep in the dog house," she said.

In 1998 True Value issued a national commercial from May through the end of the year depicting the way that the Petersons did business with Punkie Peterson's Perky Pots for new businesses and customers alike. "Anytime that there was a new business in town we would take a True Value bucket and we would take it to the Flower Exchange and they would put a plant or something in it and we would put some tools in there like a screwdriver, maybe a small hammer, a pair of pliers or something and send it to the new business. That was one of things that we did for quite a long time. But there hasn't been hardly any new businesses to do it for lately," the Petersons said. "We should have really promoted Punkie's Perky Pots and if we were younger we would have pushed it because it was a good business," Lowell Peterson added.

The Petersons do not have any major plans for their retirement except for spending more time with their children and their grandchildren. "You know I have lots of things that I like to do, so it's not a problem for me. I love to sew, refinish furniture, read, garden and go see my grandkids. But I don't know what Lowell is going to do. He's worked all his life, that's all he has ever done," Punkie Peterson said. "I really don't have any plans, I will just take it one day at a time," Lowell Peterson stated.

Closing the store was a hard decision to make with all the wonderful memories and moments that the couple enjoyed with their customers and employees, but the Petersons feel it's time to start a new chapter in their lives. When asked if they would do it all again the Petersons stated, "Would we do it all over again? Oh yeah we would. There are so many memories and things that we've experienced in this store that money certainly can't buy and so yes we would do it all over again. Overall it's been a great experience really."