315 Ridge Road

315 Ridge Road. Downtown Ridgeway Business Improvement Area. In the early 1900's the businesses located here at 315 Ridge Road were Brodie's Drug Store and Hibbard's Post Office. On April 1st 1913 these two, and most of this town block, were destroyed by fire, likely caused by a gas light left burning overnight. The townspeople were able to save one other building on the block by forming a bucket brigade with all available men and the local troop of boy scouts passing water buckets from nearby wells and cisterns. They covered the walls and roof of that building with rugs and blankets and doused them with water, repeting the flames. Soon after the fire J.L. Brodie rebuilt his drug store here as the smaller south building. It would be sold to R.E. Fretz as a meat market, then revert to a drug store with owner Steve Brodie, followed by Ted Hebbel. Nick Marani purchased it in 1973, and in 1989 he bought the larger north store from the Dell family and combined the two. , Harry Byron Dell had a funeral and furniture business in Ridgeway as early as 1909. He bought the north side of this property in 1920, then put up this 2-story building and moved his business into it. Furniture was sold on the main floor, and coffins upstairs. In those days funeral visitations were usually held at the home of the deceased, so a gathering place was not necessary. Son Kenneth joined the business in 1922 and it was called H.B. Dell and Son. A new Dell funeral home was built in 1930, and at that time the store became Dell's 5c to $1.00 selling hardware, clothing, stationery, household goods and more. Many local residents remember gazing at their window displays at Christmastime as children, hoping that Santa would bring that special toy. In 1945 Dell's was the first store in town to offer air conditioning and people rushed in to experience it. The Dell family owned the store at this location for almost 70 years, and four generations worked here, the most recent being the family of Garvin Dell. Purchased by Sam and Christina Bashta in 2008, the store has been recently renovated with attention to historical detail. , Picture from Cathy Herbert , Research and text by Ada Sherk