Dana Underwood of Laurel now helps run the back office of the store she has been working in since she was 10.
“I remember we would get $10 for dusting the furniture out on the floor,” Underwood said of spending her time in Poist Gas Co.’s Main Street store, which once sold furniture in addition to the gas stoves and grills it now sells.
Underwood is the fourth generation of her family to work at the store, which opened in 1937 and is one of eight Laurel businesses to survive 50 years or more.
The City Council is drawing attention to those businesses this month through its Business Longevity Program. The city hopes these long-lived businesses give hope to other Laurel businesses, and encourage residents to patronize them.
“The economic conditions being what they are, to have these small businesses around for so long is really incredible,” said Michele Saylor, Laurel’s director of budget and personnel, who put together the program.
The program, which kicks off at the Jan. 23 City Council meeting, will honor businesses that have been around the city for 20 years or more with a plaque at the municipal center and a certificate.
“We want to recognize having these businesses here and the economic stability that creates over time,” Saylor said. “I don’t think it can be said enough how important our support of these businesses is. They keep the local economy flourishing.”
Although Bob Mignon purchased Minuteman Press in Laurel nearly nine years ago, the business has been a Main Street fixture for more than 25 years, he said.
“The demographics of the area is such that printing is a commodity that is sought after and utilized and a high-visibility area like Main Street should be and has proven to be the case,” Mignon said. “The mayor’s showing that he’s appreciative and he understands that a healthy business community will create a healthy city.”
Dana Underwood’s grandmother, Virginia, was 9 when her father, Hohman Poist, opened the stove store. The company has stayed in Laurel, Virginia Underwood said, because that’s where their roots — and their loyal clients — are.
“I’ve never wanted to go anywhere else,” Virginia Underwood said.
Dana Underwood said she also sees the value in staying in the community where the store is established.
“I’ve had people come in and say, ‘I bought my stove from you guys 30 years ago, and I guess it’s time for a new one,’” Dana Underwood said.
Looking ahead, Dana Underwood, 25, and her brother, Sean Underwood, 23, aren’t worried about the future of their family’s business.
“The real challenge for small businesses is establishing yourself,” Dana Underwood said. “We’ve been around for so long, we have the customers and the history. So, no, I’m not worried.”
Underwood said customers know they can come into the store and they’re going to get individual attention, and that makes them come back.
“These businesses are well-known and they have good reputations,” said Gail Reinhardt of the Laurel Board of Trade, which has about 20 members who have been in the city for 20 years. “That’s what keeps them in business.”
Fred Frederick of Laurel, who has owned the Fred Frederick Chrysler dealership on Washington Boulevard since 1959, said staying in business isn’t complicated.
“We treat our customers, from day one to the present, like I would want to be treated,” he said.
Frederick’s youngest son, Jeff Frederick, runs the dealership’s Easton location, and said the entire family’s work ethic has a lot to do with their success.
“Growing up, we all cut the grass; we all swept the floors; we all detailed the cars and shoveled snow off the lot in the winter,” Jeff Frederick said of his brothers and sister, who work at the Laurel store. “We work long hours, and we’re geared toward establishing long-term relationships. I think that works for us.”
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