Herbst Furniture

By Kit Zinser

A dynasty existed in Washington.  I don’t mean a rich or royal dynasty; this one was comprised (and still is) of family values, honesty, and plain hard work.  I had the pleasure of meeting with Jeanne Herbst to find out about the visit with American Pickers and a little bit of family history.

We met on the square in Washington above a retail business called Define the Home. The upper level now hosts an Airbnb called The Storekeepers Loft. This building was one of four connected along North Main that housed the Herbst Company. As I entered The Storekeeper’s Loft, I felt as if I was walking into a piece of history.  The walls in the entry are comprised of tongue and groove waxed wood flooring.  A drain pipe running to the roof became an art project wrapped with rope which was another treasure found in the basement from the old days. The brick walls were revealed after much labor, removing layers of old plaster and wallpaper. The discovery also produced three arched bricked windows that house a stainless steel refrigerator, a pantry inches deep protected by an antique door, and a full-length mirror.  An upright piano became a work desk. Overhead light fixtures are repurposed from old store finds.  The aged building elevator, complete with original gearing and chain, provides the perfect backdrop for pictures.  Each item was either restored or repurposed from the early days of the Herbst Company store.

Stunned by the beauty of it all, I composed myself enough to take notes and step back into the Herbst family history. But before going further, a lineage needs to be considered.

First Generation owners were: Raymond George Herbst, Sr., who married Elizabeth Klaus.  (He was known as Razz, and she as Putt. (The nickname Razz came from his razzle-dazzle athletic exploits in high school.)  From their union were five children:  Raymond George, Jr., Joanne, Roberta, Edward, and Karen.

The second-generation owners were Raymond George, Jr., who married Ruth Ilgaudas and had four children: Kathy, Jeanne, Barbie, and R. George, III. They became the Third-Generation owners of the store.

Side note: Ruth Ilgaudas came to America from Lithuania with her mother, Berta, and her father, Jacob, and sisters, Bertha, Edith, and Christine. Before the war began, Ruth was studying ballet with her sights set on the Russian Ballet. On her way home one day, she happened to see a man on a balcony screaming at a gathering crowd.  She asked who it was, and the response was: Hitler.  Ruth’s father, Jacob, was a farmer and master carpenter, and he was approached by the Germans to build ships.  He said no to Hitler, and the family ended up in a concentration camp. Miraculously, they survived the traumatic life-changing experience.  After the war, the family came to America and settled in Washington with the sponsorship of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and the Essig family.  Ruth met George Jr. while she was helping at a church wedding reception. They fell in love, married, and continued the Herbst legacy.

After discussing a myriad of family stories, memories, and experiences, I asked Jeanne what her most enlightening recollection was.  She responded: “I never knew what I experienced was so great.  It was just normal to work in the store.  My grandparents worked at the store, my dad and mom worked, and we kids worked. A regular day at school was being part of band, orchestra, and chorus, doing volunteer work, keeping up my grades, and walking from the high school to the store for some work hours.”  No sense of entitlement or expectation existed amongst the Herbst offspring. 

Before “recycling” was more of the norm, the Herbst family was way ahead of the times.  Nothing was thrown away that might be used for a future fix or replacement.  It was normal for the family to conserve and be economical personally, too.   Acquiring riches was not important, but acquiring cast-offs could serve one later, and how they did. 

Razz and Putt opened Herbst Hardware in 1942.  The store quickly expanded to four connecting buildings that housed gifts, office supplies, furniture, electronics, appliances, carpeting, draperies, mattresses, chests, and rockers.  Never having to step outside, one could browse from the south end to the north end on North Main Street.  The requisite hope chests for every senior girl in high school were at the very end, along with the rocking chairs.

Customer service was at the zenith of Herbst values.  Jeanne remembers one customer late on Christmas Eve requesting a rocking chair be gift-wrapped.  It was accomplished, but not without some angst. Customers were treated with respect no matter what they needed.  Mr. B., a serious and exact man, purchased a TI calculator.  Later, he brought it back to the store, stating: “Mr. Herbst, ahem, this calculator is off by .0256.  I would like another one, please.” Accommodating was just one value held, and a TI calculator was close at hand for Mr. B.  Customers became family, and no one went unnoticed.

Through practical jokes, Jeanne, Kathy, Barbie, and George III found fun at the store.  Grandmother Putt was called to task one day by granddaughter Jeanne, who was going through accounts.  “Grandma, you made a mistake on Mrs. Lyon’s account.  You must call her immediately.”  This was followed by a phone number.  Putt put in the call...and as she asked for Mrs. Lyon, she realized she was talking to the Peoria Zoo. Jeannie did mention that being told: “You are disowned,” was common after one of their jokes.

Besides the Herbst Company, the family held interest in Northside TV and Appliances, The Tazewell Theater, and the White Elephant (one of the first shops to sell consignment items).  As the years passed, store buildings were sold, and only one was left.  With the stress of trying to compete, George Jr. (second-generation owner) designed and built the finest miniature dollhouses.  His craftsmanship was legendary, and he would lose himself in the task of each dollhouse.  Many girls were delighted at Christmas time and on birthdays.  I imagine some have been handed down.

After the passing of Razz, Putt, George Jr., and Ruth, the one building now rests in the hands of the third generation. This generation dedicates the existence and transformation of the “Mom and Pop” store with the same love, respect, and hard work that was learned early from their own experiences in the retail world. Recollections of Washington residents abound, and Jeanne and her family never tire of listening to people relate experiences of purchases and special gifts from the Herbst family's hands.  The closing of the store was a sad day for our little town, but it is refreshing to know that good old ingenuity and genuine business practices still exist on the square today.