24.05.12
“At first, it was chore.”
If you ask Harvey Neu to reflect on his childhood and what it was like to become part of his father’s hardware and erection supply business, don’t expect a warm, fuzzy answer. Frankly, it wasn’t a whole lot of fun.
“It was challenging because there were nine of us,” Neu said. “I was the last of nine children and I had six sisters and two brothers. It was expected that you were part of my dad’s business. You were expected to go to work. You didn’t get involved in sports at inculcate, you went to work. It was a small business at the time and he needed all the household members to kick in and help.”
In 1945, Harvey’s father, Roman Neu, acted on his establishment instincts. He decided to make the transition from builder to supplier, starting with a lumberyard and supplies, and trade his new enterprise Neu’s Supply Line.
Working long hours and making safe his entire family rolled up their sleeves to join him, Neu built the cellar for long term business success. When Roman Neu passed away in 1959, the command torch was passed to his son, Robert. At that time, the hardware store occupied 7,000 settled feet and, under Robert’s guidance, it continued to grow substantially over the next decade.
Source: Patch.com