West Orange’s Oldest Business Celebrates 100th Anniversary

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The following article comes courtesy of West Orange Public Information Officer Joseph Fagan. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. stopped by Schneider Hardware on Main Street in West Orange on December 14 to chat and offers his congratulations. The hardware store is the oldest business in town and celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023. DiVincenzo presented the third-generation owners Roger and Gerald Schneider with a proclamation from Essex County acknowledging the store’s century of service.

West Orange Mayor Susan McCartney acknowledged Schneider’s Hardware with a similar proclamation at a Township Council meeting this past January. The county executive arrived ahead of schedule and only missed McCartney, Council President Tammy Williams, and Councilwoman Michelle Casalino by a matter of minutes for a photo op. Everyone however took the opportunity to extend their congratulations once again to Schneider’s Hardware and pose for a quick photo with both proclamations in front of the store.

The sign in the window says they sharpen anything however nothing could be sharper than Schneider’s Hardware focus on service. Visiting the store is as if you entered a magical portal back in time. One is greeted with all the familiar hardware store items but the surroundings are indeed remarkably different. The combined elements of the old tin ceiling, time worn hardwood flooring, and decades old hand made shelving all add to the pleasant and distinctive aroma of living history. The sights and smells provide texture to an already abundant feast for the senses. Any customer would quickly conclude that they surely have come to the right place to find what they need.

The business was founded by Isadore Schneider who first immigrated from Austria to the United States and settled in Newark. He earned a living sharpening knives. It was there that he met a seamstress Beckie Grebelsky who herself had immigrated from the Ukraine in 1911 at age 15. A romance soon blossomed and shortly after they were married, they relocated to West Orange. It was here where they opened Schneider Hardware in 1923.

The original location of the store was at Tory Corner when it was still named Valley Road. The name changed to Main Street in 1926. Ten years later the business moved just a few stores down to where it is currently located. Shortly after the hardware store was expanded to its current size occupying what once was part of the game room for the former Tory Corner Tavern.

Isadore and Beckie Schneider never received much of a formal education and although their native language was Yiddish they learned to communicate in English. Isadore eventually learned to speak several languages including Italian. Schneider Hardware soon gained a foothold in the community by developing a reputation for customer service. Often times Isadore would go to a customer’s house after hours free of charge to help them with home repairs with supplies purchased at the store.

Eventually the business passed on to the second generation when their son Leon Schneider took over about 1946 following his service in World War II. Lee played football at West Orange High School and graduated in 1939. He began working at the hardware store as a teenager and became a dedicated hard working and resourceful civic minded businessman. Anyone who got to know Lee saw his lust for life through his jokes and storytelling, anecdotes, and his own contagious passion for West Orange history. Lee Schneider retired in 1999 and passed away in 2002 with more than 60 years of experience in the business that his father started.

Most retail businesses today rely on computerized UPC coding for inventory control, pricing, and sales receipts. However today the store is operated by the grandsons of the original founders who adhere to the old-world values taught to them. Roger and Gerald are third generation owners who proudly carry on the tradition endeared upon them by their father and grandfather. They even still use the old cash register and hand write receipts They have brought the business into the 21st century by carving out a niche despite difficult economic times. It is not only the oldest business in West Orange but also stakes the claim of being the oldest hardware store in Essex County continually operated by the same family.

Roger and Gerald Schneider proudly stand in the long shadow cast by the store’s historic past. Its story is closely interwoven into West Orange’s own history. Their grandparents Isadore and Beckie Schneider who started the business in 1923 would certainly smile with approval today knowing their vision of the American dream is now shared by their grandsons. Their late father Lee Schneider would be equally proud to know the legacy he passed on to them continues.

• See Related: Hammering Out A Legacy In West Orange: Hardware Store Turns 100

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