H. G. Lqrrick Remodels Solqno Beqch Yqrd (Agqinl)

This Spring, H. G. Larrick, Sr. completed a remodeling of the Lumber & Builders Supply Co. at Solana Beach, Calif., that had been going on almost continually for more than t\\'o years and, finally satisfied rvith it, held an Open House on April 21. As the handsome retail store norv shou's, Dealer Larrick is pretty much of a perfectionist. A major remodeling rvas completed late in 1953, further rvork was done on the yard itself late in 1954, and the big improve- ments were started late last Autumn and given the final polish early this year.

In a carefully laid-out, full-page display ad in The San Dieguito Citizen of April 19, the remodeling was publicly announced. Centering the ad was the message: "Celebrating 33 Years of Grolvth, \lOU are invited to visit our Open House April 21 from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m." Listed r,vere the officers of the company and executives of the vard : H. G.

AT MR. IARRICK'S OPEN HOUSE-In the rop left phoro, H. G. Lorrick, Sr.. welcomes lo tho remodeled store his rhird customer when the yord wos opened in 1923, Mr. leinhort, uho srill trodes rhere 33 sctisfled yeors lofer; next: the wonderful linle ploy forr (builr in the yord) which wos won by some lucky child during rhe Open House. In the ponel below, left, llrs. Dorir Weiss serves lorrick punch to custome, guests (note the plywood ponel otop cor outside ofiice picture window looking toword oceon; sole wos mqde during Open House); cenier: in her hosters role, Mrs. Weiss regislers one of mony fqmilies ottending Open House (note the bolloons for the kids); right: Mr. lorrick occepts 0orol ofiering from Steve Fletcher, who qttended q3 repre3enlaliye of the Flcrcher fomily, onother of rhe yord's frrst Gu3fomer3 33 yeors ogo. In second ponel below, lefir the lorricks were genuinely surprised ot the volume of businers conducted qnd soles mcde during rhe Open House, os rhis line ol sotes counler thows; center: this qttrqctive "product-pusher', altrocled mony women cu3tomar3 with her scles rolk on points; right: rhe power tool demonstrotion, one of mony ruch, wos held in oreowoy qt reor of slore-this, too, dttrqcled mqny women

In the lower ponel, left: noils qre pacloged in the Solqno Beoch yord Mr. Lqrrick is believed to be onc of the few deolers in the country who puts o somple noil on the outside of eoch pockoge; cen?er: Deoler lorrick (lefi) wirh Chorlie Dovis, who wss still onother of the very fir:t customers in 1923, but he loter become (qnd srill is) rhe Yord Superintendent there-they are shown looking over the ncw moulding disploy; qnd, ot rhe righr, the Proiection Room with theotre chcirs, slide prolector ond lorge screen on q cedqr woll where builders con iee the "producf in action."

The personal touch, and the clue to Mr. Larrick's personality and business success, were demonstrated in the ad's upper right corner-rvhich urged the reader to vote the next day for the bonds to aid the schools of the area and tied in the schools'lvith the history of the yard-and in the upper left corner, u'hich carried this interesting data under the byline of "Timber Tirn, D.B.NI. (Doctor of Building Materials"), a regularly used advertising feature of the yard:

"This business l\,'as established August 1923. At that time there r'vere only three houses in Solana Beach: the old Jones farmhouse, no\v the H. G. Larrick, Sr. residence; the Estes home on the highway, and Ed Kincaid's house, 1ocated where the Union Oil station not\. stands at the north end of town. Frank Kno'"1'les, the stepfather of HGL, Sr., moved into a new house just built, and managed the yard until April 1924, when HGL, Sr. took over. The first employee was George Ward, and the first three months' payroll was $810.00. Today this payroll has grou,n to 44 employes and the last quarter totaled $56,845.00-an important item in the economy of the San Dieguito area, as these employes live in Encinitas, Cardiff, Soliana Beach, Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe. The Solana C{dar and Nlilling Co., a subsidiary, wholesales Incense Cedar under' its Solana Brand throughout San Diego countyl"

Combining history, vital statistics, names and a little honest advertising in his "Timbe,r,fim" column in the paper like that, F{erschell Larrick shows how he has made his Solana Beach yard both a power and a friend in the community and its economy.

IHE TASTEFUT REMODEUNG of rhe hondsomc retqil slore proved no tosk for the imoginotion ond re. sources of Mr. Lorrick. In the top lefi photo, see how tha species in inventory qre used to finish the oftce wolls. The signs hcnging beside rhe fromed copy of the Conslifution of rhe Unircd Sfotes in cenler of woll exploin thot thot is Philippine mohogcny; :igns honging below counler - fop in foreground soy thal thosc woods orc wesfern rad cedor ond incense cedcr. Thc top right photo shows rhe Scsh, Door & lumber Sqles office ond disploy section in store; ncrncs below rhc sign qre Kcn Wydnt ond Gordon Steck.

TOOI AND HARDWARE DISPTAY sccfion is shown in left phoro, or lcft; o lorgc stock of gorden toob ond lhou3onds of migccllcncous ilcmr for homcowncrs ond do-ilyouf3elfeli orc olso 3tockad h61e. fhot ir Monoger Homihon's dcsk in lower lcft forcground. Every cornar of thc rpotc ir ured by this modcl rctoil yord; rhe right photo, ct fhc lcfi, shows o "pic- iurc window" disploy of burncrs qnd othcr yord nccds.

The balance of the ad was given to advertising of both the yard and its Open House celebration. Listed were the paint sale, National Hardware Week sale, screen door sale and a special on Solana Cedar fence. Then came announcement of the demonstrations.

Getting back to the human touch, the ad concluded with an "Old Timers Corner" with this message: "According to the original records, the following old timers still living in this area, or now active accounts, were among our first customers. If they lvill visit our Open llouse, we will have a gift for them. They are listed in the order of their first purchase: The Ed Fletcher Co., Ed Batchelder, Chas. L. Davis, Leon Lienhart, Robert McKenna, Herbert J. Estes, Ira E. Connor, Spencer Ward."

Bruce Richards was the architect of the store remodeling, but Dealer Larrick gets his ideas from everywhere: the Fuller Pair-rts lady demonstrator suggested the color of the bin displays to harmonize. The remodeling of the south half of the store included "clearing the aisles," putting in a picture window and placing the Sash, Door and Lumber sales where the "swivel ofifrce" was. The new conrracror and builder plan room has the yard's species for wall panelings, and Mr. Larrick, Sr. now is officed upstairs on the store's large second floor next to a handsome new accounting office where four employes are constantly busy. In HGL's office is the Projection Room "Little.Theatre.,, Still to be polished off is tl-re north half of the where display racks to be finished early this summer will show all tnouldings, trim, plyrvoods and species in the yard (which are considerable). Display cases were set back arid. the builders' hardrvare section streamlined for better effect.

Dealer Larrick gave The MERCHANT's man a''{special (Coniinued on Page 7l)

THE FINISH SHED ot the lorrick ycrd ir locoted bctwccn rcor of lhe rtore ond thc yord. lr is all undercover ond conlcins onc of the lorge3f invonlorie. in Southern Colifornio.

C1OSEUP of some of the items in rhe Finish shed shows how ccrefully rhe stock is mointoincd by thc compony. Nota the poller rype of storoge. Evcn the reor port of this storoge sreq is well lighred from spoced skylights.

"tUIUBER ilDS" were first tried ouf in the Solono Beoch yord for the Ed Fountoin lumber Co. of Lor Angeles, which pioneers them in Sourhern Cqlifornio.. See. how ihey protecf in yord.