Hardware Magic

from September_InMiddlebury Magazine

Mother Nature always wins

FAMILY BUSINESS – Pictured are Nathan and Caitlyn Miller with their dogs Ivy (left) and Stella (right). Stella would be employee of the month if not for her extra energy.

by Chris Wheeler photos by Linnea Wheeler

As a kid, Nathan Miller would visit his grandfather at the family hardware store and marvel at the “hardware magic” on display. A customer would approach the register with a random bolt or screw, and within seconds his grandfather had identified it to the 1/8th of an inch and was on his way to

110 YEARS

of caring for your Firsts.

finding three more for them.

These days, Nathan is the one helming the front desk at Varns & Hoover, magically identifying the exact bolt you need for your project. As the fifth-generation family owner of Varns & Hoover, he takes deep interest in its 130-plus years of history.

Varns & Hoover started out in 1886 as Wise & Varns Hardware in Mancelona, Mich. Half-brothers W. W. Wise and Ellsworth Varns moved the business to Middlebury in 1887 after an unfortunate fire in Mancelona. They set up shop across the street from the current location at 101 S. Main St., where they would eventually move 25 years later. This fortunate move placed them only blocks away from the Pumpkinvine Railway, which was their source for products from across the country for years. Wise died in 1912, and in 1916 Varns was joined in the business by his son Clarence and brother-in-law Clarence Hoover, officially changing the name to Varns & Hoover. The business was eventually bought by Clarence Varn’s son-in-law, Dean Warstler, who was Nathan’s grandfather. Dean’s own son-in-law, Carl Eash, managed the store until his retirement in 2017.

The family has deep roots in other parts of Middlebury’s history as well. Clarence Hoover grew up in the Varns Guest House, just down the street from the store. His brother Charles brought Middlebury’s First State Bank through the Great Depression as its first president. And Nathan’s grandfather and

Celebrating uncle, along with many other employees throughout the years,

CELEBRATING

YEARS 1910-2020

have been connected with the Middlebury Fire Department.

Remnants and relics of this rich past are strewn throughout the store. Two divots worn into the hardwood of the northernmost aisle indicate the original location of the register where clerks would stand to ring up purchases. Here, surrounded by cubbyholes full of everything from fasteners to ammunition, they would climb a sliding ladder to work their “hardware magic” for customers. In those days, barbed wire was all the rage, as evidenced by an original options board of a dozen different varieties still on display in the store. Nathan and his team still use and maintain the original rope pulling and pipe threading machines, and the enormous Wise & Varns safe sits in state in the back office.

These days, Varns & Hoover continues the tradition of carrying virtually anything you might need for anything you might be doing – the perfect fit for a community of makers such as Middlebury. They have supplies for your next DIY project, for plumbing and electrical work, or for the start of the gardening season. Besides the normal hardware items, you can also find over 100 varieties of bulk garden seeds, scores of flower varieties, and some of the best extra-large hanging Boston fern baskets available in the area (if you want the latter, be sure to get on their waiting list now).

Nathan grew up in Goshen, but visited his grandparents in Middlebury so often that it became a second home to him. He would help his Grandma Gerry make cookies and coffee cake for guests at the Varns Guest House, and visit Grandpa Dean at the hardware store on lunch hours and run around the upstairs balcony. Originally interested in medicine and physical therapy, he worked at Goshen Memorial Hospital for five years before continuing his family’s legacy at Varns & Hoover. Nathan’s wife, Caitlyn, is Middlebury-born and raised, with long family history in the area; ask her about her Grandfather Roger’s boyhood hijinks if you get a chance. She not only helps Nathan manage the business and catalog the store’s history, but also coordinates social media and marketing, fields calls

from vendors, and talks shop with customers every Saturday. And for two hours at the end of every Saturday, she is joined by the every-month Employee of the Month, their cockapoo Ivy.

When he first took ownership of the store in 2018, Nathan was working six days a week, often until 11 o’clock every night. He frequently totaled over 80 hours a week. His grandmother (then in her 90s) would often drive over in her old Cadillac and join him for lunch, sharing sage bits of wisdom over their cheese sandwiches. Even now, he averages 25,000 steps a day, helping customers find what they need and managing a skilled team of employees.

“When you put that kind of blood, sweat, and tears into something, you know it’s something that was meant to be. It becomes part of you.” Nathan’s passion for helping his customers is evident, and in a small town like Middlebury, that help extends beyond guiding them to the right color of paint.

“We’re an information hub. We provide products. We provide counseling. People will come in and they may know what they want. But they just need someone to talk to, somebody to let them know that what they’re doing is correct. You can’t do that on Amazon. YouTube is nice, but you can’t ask somebody a question on YouTube.”

When asked what his favorite part of owning Varns & Hoover is, Nathan responds without hesitation: “I love my job. I love what I do. But without the people in the community, it would just be another retail job. It’s true – your customers do become family. You expect to see them every week. When you don’t see them, you check in. I love the people in Middlebury… People here can make just about anything, or make it work.”

Varns & Hoover’s website points out that “In years past, the hometown hardware store was right at the heart of the community.” If Nathan and Caitlyn’s passion and care for their customers is any indication, this particular hardware store still is.

Stable Grounds, Inc. holds groundbreaking ceremony

COMMUNITY PROJECT – Pictured above are MCS administration, donors, project design associates, school board members, Boys and Girls Club representatives, future volunteer staff of Stable Grounds and the first two therapy horses.

NEW LOGO – The logo for Stable Grounds was designed by Sidnee Barbaro, a student at NHS.

Stable Grounds, Inc. held its groundbreaking ceremony on July 16 for the facility at the Middlebury Community Schools main campus. The new facility is supported by a $500,000 donation from the Peggy Weed Foundation (Robert Weed Plywood), a donation of land from the Essenhaus Group, and a $10,000 donation from 100 Women Who Care in Elkhart County. Interra Credit Union is also supporting the project with a construction loan. Stable Grounds is partnering with Middlebury Community Schools and the Middlebury Boys and Girls Club.

Stable Grounds, Inc., which will be located northeast of Orchard View Elementary in Middlebury, will feature a barn and arena with classroom and office space. The services in the facility will provide Middlebury Community Schools students with social, emotional, and mental health therapy using EAGALA trained equine therapy miniature horses and donkeys. Trained social, emotional and mental health therapists employed by Middlebury Community Schools will provide counseling sessions for students by having them interact with the trained miniature animals. The students will not be riding animals, but will work with them using best practice social, emotional and mental health counseling equine therapy techniques. The Middlebury Community Schools Board of Trustees passed a resolution to provide the necessary personnel for Stable Grounds in a five-year partnership.

“We are so very thrilled that generous donors in our community have allowed us to provide our students with this new facility to support positive social, emotional and mental health therapy, said School Superintendent Jane Allen. “Our students will now have a way to learn and practice strategies to help them cope with anxiety, depression, anger, and trauma in their lives. We owe special gratitude to the Weed Family for the funds to construct our facility and the Essenhaus Family who have provided us with the land adjacent to the main Middlebury Community Schools campus.”

COMMUNITY DONORS – Pictured left to right are Scott and Cindy Miller and Ed and Patty Fergison, donors for the Stable Grounds project. 10 inMiddlebury Magazine | SEPTEMBER 2020

DESCRIBING NEW FACILITY – Kori Cripe, certified mental health counselor, describes what the new Stable Grounds facility will look like as well as the type of programs that will be offered.

GETTING READY – Shovels are at the ready for the Stable Grounds, Inc. groundbreaking on July 16.

MAJOR DONORS – Pictured are Mr. and Mrs. Robert Weed, major donors toward the Stable Grounds, Inc. project.

EQUINE HELP – Anna Garner, 10, who attends HIS, helps manage one of the future therapy horses. DONATES LAND – Joel Miller of Essenhaus was a major donor of the land where Stable Grounds will reside.