Endcaps Display A Century of History

Visitors to Wangler Ace Hardware in Fort Recovery, Ohio, may feel like they’ve stepped back in time as they walk through the store, looking at endcaps that tell the story of past generations.

Wangler Ace is a fifth-generation family hardware store, owned by P.J. and Mike Minor; their son, Matt Minor; and business partner Steve Schmitz. Minor’s great-great-grandfather, Erhard Wangler, founded the business in 1916.

This fall, the family hosted a 100th-anniversary celebration. To recognize all generations of the business, they put together endcaps acknowledging each generation who had a part in owning and running the business. The endcaps included old tools and guns (which the store used to sell), as well as some ledgers and other older books.

“We set up these endcap displays to give our customers a better understanding and more knowledge of the history of our business,” says Matt Minor.

“Our team worked together to gather the information and find cool things to display,” he says.

They also worked with a graphic designer to put together a history of each generation, which told the story of that generation’s owner and included photos from the time.

Minor says the endcaps will stay up in the store for a while as a way to continue the recognition of its 100th year in business.