Final Day for Fisher Lumber

By Gene Williams
Staff Writer

February 12 --There wasn't much left to buy at Fisher Lumber on Friday afternoon, mostly just a few narrow boards and some hardware odds-and-ends. (Final day in pictures)

Everything else had been sold cheaply during the past few weeks as the 82-year-old company prepared for this, the close of its final day.

A light but steady rain fell on the three-acre yard while workers in yellow slickers padlocked the doors and gates and cleared the large sheds of wood which they loaded onto flat-bed trucks to be hauled away.

Inside the store, employees and customers gathered in small groups to say goodbye, while a dozen or so shoppers quietly searched for last-minute bargains and mementos to take home.

"I worked half my life here," said a Fisher employee sitting behind the customer service booth. "I just feel kind of numb. I don't think it will sink in 'till later."

At 4:30 he picked up a microphone and announced, "Fisher Lumber is now closed. Thank you for shopping at Fisher Lumber."

He started to say something more, but the words wouldn't come out. A nearby coworker tried to offer an appropriate phrase. "And have a good evening," the coworker suggested.

The man at the booth brought the microphone to his mouth again as he looked around at the nearly empty store.