SHAMOKIN -- A hardware store in Shamokin recently closed its doors. Jones Hardware was a fixture in that Northumberland County community for 102 years.
Gig Thomas stopped at what used to be Jones Hardware in Shamokin. He has a leak in his sink and came to get a part.
"I have to get the whole plastic thing underneath there. Quickly, go into town and grab it. Now?" he shrugged.
Jones Hardware in Shamokin closed last week after 102 years in business.
"It was always somewhere you could go and get almost anything and it was convenient," Karen Wasilewski said.
Out of three Jones Hardware stores, only one is staying open; the one on Route 61, two miles from the Shamokin store.
According to a manager, the company's location near Herndon will also close by the end of this year.
The manager says the stores were competing with each other.
"It stinks for a lot of people who don't have transportation," Bill Cossari said.
For Ed Kotwica, the store was convenient. He runs an electric and appliance company and shopped here often.
"I've shopped at Jones' basically from 1974 right on through."
Many people tell Newswatch 16 that Jones' is just one of quite a few businesses in Shamokin that aren't around anymore.
"There's a lot vacant everywhere you go now and that's just another one," Cossari said.
"(We) don't have any business and nothing downtown anymore. It's a shame," Kotwica added.
Employees at the Shamokin and Herndon area stores were all offered jobs at the store on Route 61. The owner of Jones Hardware would not comment on why the store closed.
