BY SUE ELLEN ROSS Post-Tribune correspondent
HAMMOND -- P.H. Mueller Sons Hardware closed its doors Thursday after more than a century of service.
An auction of the store's stock will take place Saturday.
"The final decision was strictly economic," said current owner and manager Dave Mueller. "It became necessary to liquidate in order to open up space for other use."
Mueller's great-grandfather, Paul Henry Mueller, opened the business in 1887 along north Hohman Avenue. The retail store enjoyed fast success in the then-growing downtown area.
A few years later, Mueller moved his company to the corner of Sibley Boulevard and Hohman Avenue.
The ever-expanding hardware store found another home in 1902, when it moved to a brand new building at 416 Sibley Blvd. It remained there for 107 years.
Paul Henry Mueller subsequently bought the building next door at 418 Sibley Blvd., which had housed a saloon. The two buildings were combined, and a machine shop was added to the rear of the former saloon. The front area housed an automotive paint department starting in 1939.
Mueller's sons, Jacob and Paul, came into the business in the early 20th century. Their sons, Jacob (known as "Babe"), and Paul ("Bud"), took the reins in the 1960s. When Jacob died in 2007, his son and daughter-in-law David and Rita Mueller took over the business.
The interior of the hardware store has changed little since the early 20th century. Glass vertical display cases still adorn the walls, and the original tin ceilings in both buildings have been maintained in the same condition as when they were first designed in the machine shop.
The old wooden floor in the hardware area has never been replaced, and its condition addresses the success of the store over the years.
"If no one ever came in here, we wouldn't have worn a three-quarter-inch maple floor to the sub-flooring," Mueller laughed.
The last week of business found many customers and former employees visiting for one last look around.
Fred Beckman, 76, remembers the first time he visited the hardware store.
"I was much younger then and rode my bicycle here to buy chicken wire for my rabbit cages," the Munster resident reminisced. "Over the years, I've always stopped in. This is like a museum to me, there's a lot of nostalgia here."
Former employee Marti Hayes of Burns Harbor worked at the business from 2001 to 2004.
She remembers not only the interesting customers, but her boss, Babe Mueller, and his positive interactions with customers.
"This breaks my heart to see the hardware store close because it has become such a tradition," she said. "The friendly service always stayed the same, and Babe would add to his inventory to accommodate customer demands.
"If the ceiling had a mouth, it could tell a lot of stories."
When the automotive paint section of the business was discontinued last fall, Mueller found himself with empty space on the west side of the building.
At that time, he took a risk by moving into a new line of business, opening Paul Henry's Art Gallery, offering consignment items ranging from jewelry to pottery and paintings.
More than 100 artists exhibit their work, and special events also are scheduled there on a regular basis.
But leaving the hardware business means closing the book on a significant part of the family's life.
"I have a strong connection to the hardware business, it's been here all my life and my dad's entire life," Mueller said. "Every small business owner will tell you that whether you are in business one year or 122 years, it becomes an extension of you. Closing this store is a serious separation."
Mueller said he will stay in downtown Hammond and will focus on his gallery.
He doesn't know yet what he'll do with the hardware store space. Expanding the gallery may be on the horizon, but Mueller said he's open to other possibilities, including leasing to another business.
Meanwhile, more than 2,500 items will go on the auction block Saturday.
Everything is "new," although some are very dated.
Although there is a museum of antique tools displayed in glass showcases, these won't be part of the auction.
Also excluded are store fixtures, weight scales, old advertising signs and the hundreds of wood drawers along the walls, which will remain with the building.