Lakewood Lore

62-year hardware store survived many city storms

Remember what the old hardware stores were like?

Well, Meilander's, founded in Lakewood 62 years ago, keeps many of the earmarks, such as an oil-wood floor, nails still in bins, lawn-mower sharpening, screen repairing and, best of all advice when something needs fixing.

"We're not only salesmen here but also service people who try to solve our customers' problems," explains 56-year-old proprietor Ralph Meilander.

Ralph's father, who was born in Bedford in 1901, opened Meilander's Hardware at 13706 Madison, buying the store from an owner who had been held up and wanted to leave. Seven years later, in 1934, the elder Meilander moved his business across the street to its current location on the corner of Wascana.

In 1935, the family left their Baxterly home in Lakewood for Fairview Park. But they returned in 1942 because wartime gas restrictions curbed driving to and from work. Using public transportation meant taking three different buses.

"Father managed the operation alone until World War II took his help," Ralph Jr. recalled. "Then my mother, Lillian, assisted until dad died in 1951."

Ralph Jr., born in Lakewood, entered the family-owned business in 1944 while attending junior high school here.

"In the afternoons, I peddled newspapers and then came to the store to sweep the floor and make deliveries," he said.

After his father's death, he took the reins while completing his education at Fenn College and serving in the military. His mother, now 83, and his brother, William, teamed up with him. William, a retired Cleveland school principal, still works at the store on Saturdays.

Another assistant, Ralph's right hand for the past 10 years, is David Miller, grandson of Leonard B. Miller, who was Lakewood's police chief from 1921 to '51.

In 1958, Ralph doubled the size of the store, taking over adjacent space that had been a grocery. But his life hasn't been al hardware. He played saxophone in the Lakewood High band and added clarinet during his hitch in the Army band.

He raced circle-track stock cars for 19 years, quitting unscathed after turning upside down seven different times, five of which were end over end. Today, he collects antique automobiles, the favorite classic in his stable being a 1930 Chrysler roadster.

Next December, Ralph and his wife, the former Barbara Christiansen (also born here and a Lakewood High grad), will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. The couple have three children and live in Rocky River.

Although a nostalgic display of old tools currently decorates Meilander's show window, the store tries to be the best of two worlds -- the old and the new -- while selling considerably more varied products than in bygone days.

"Nothing drops off," Ralph said. "We to metric but still have to keep U.S. standard; we go to plastic on pipe but still must stock copper and steel."

In the solving of customer problems however, one thing hasn't changed. "It still helps a lot if the customers bring in to us the part that has broken down," he said with a smile.

This article appeared in the Lakewood Sun Post August 10, 1989. Reprinted with permission.

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