From left – Roy, Marie, and Charles “Pop” Somers inside the Roy D. Somers Co. located on Wolf Creek Street.
Submitted photo
BROOKVILLE — In 1949, Charles Somers at the age of 84 was reported to be the oldest man employed along business row in Brookville.
Charles was the Father of Roy D. Somers. He had been the first employee to arrive at work at Roy D. Somers & Co. in the mornings for the past 13 years. He was known as “Pop” to the crew that included Roy, his wife Marie, Walter Bossinger and Don Behnken.
Before going to work for Roy, Charles used the same hammer and trestles (horses) for 50 years while working at the carpenter trade. He worked without pay during his first year of apprenticeship under an uncle, the former Levi Stover. The second year he was paid 50 cents a day and the third year he received $1.00 a day. Charles built sash for over 30 years for the Elgar Weaver lumber yard.
Although Charles was slightly injured a couple of times, 1948 was the first time he had seen a doctor for sickness in 76 years. Charles died in 1953 and is buried in Parish Cemetery in Arlington.
Roy D. Somers Co. was located on Wolf Creek Street across from Market Street. The business was started in 1930. It later became Somers-Behnken Hardware and later Behnken Hardware.
All information and the photo for this Look at Brookville article were supplied by the Brookville Historical Society.
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