Longtime Murrysville hardware store closes its doors

Last Friday, the back room at John Meier & Sons Hardware in Murrsyville probably looked very similar to its early days — an extended family gathering around the table for lunch, before heading back out for one more afternoon at the store.

In the 1970s, it wasn’t unusual for Sue Jefferson, Peggy Meier and a bunch of her cousins to be running around the hardware store marking nuts and bolts with price tags.

“I’ve pretty much always been here,” said Jefferson, an Apollo resident who has been working at the store on Old William Penn Highway for the past 25 years. “Our grandfather started the store in 1953 with seven children, and everyone kind of had their own little niche in it.”

On Saturday, owner Jack Meier — who was 15 years old when his father opened the store — closed the doors after nearly seven decades in business.

“We grew up here, so it’ll always be like home,” said Peggy Meier, who’s been at the store for 40 years. “Sue’s son Jay grew up here with me every summer since he was 10 years old, and my brother’s son was here with me since he was a baby.”

When it opened in the 1950s, Meier & Sons was a 24-by-50-foot building.

“We’ve probably done about five additions over the years,” Jack said. That includes the building next door, which the Meiers bought in 1988 and turned into Meier Plumbing, Heating & AC, which operated alongside the hardware store for many years.

“I’ll miss everyone,” Jack said. “I’m going to spend some time with my in-laws down south.”

For Jack’s granddaughter, 11-year-old Alexandra Dover of Murrysville, the hardware store will be a fond memory.

“This store really brought our family together,” Dover said. “We wouldn’t have seen each other nearly as often without it.”

Her sister Anna, 10, agreed.

“It’s great to come and see our aunts whenever we want,” she said.

“We’re really lucky,” Jefferson said. “This ended up being a central location for our family over the years,” she said.

Peggy Meier said that family dynamic has extended to many longtime customers as well.

“We just really enjoyed all of the people,” she said. “My dad wants to sell the building, and we’re hoping that being near the (Westmoreland Heritage) Trail with all the development that’s happened around it will help.”