Rain likely. Low 58F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch..
Rain likely. Low 58F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Fitzwater Furniture as it appears today.
Gary Fitzwater has been involved in the family business since he was a child.
Fitzwater Furniture staff members are pictured. From left: Paul Rowan, 18 years, Delivery Consultant; Donna Kemphfer 21 years, Design Consultant; Laura Rice, two years, Design Consultant;, Don Dawson 27 years, Assistant Store Manager/Delivery Associate; Linda Riley, 27 years, “Domestic Engineer;” Gary Fitzwater, Owner; and Jennette Fitzwater, Co-Owner. Not pictured is Jessica Getson, six years, Design Consultant.
The Fitzwater family is pictured in this photo from over 30 years ago. From left: Gary, Jennette, Bonnie and Edward.
The late Edward Fitzwater and his son Gary Fitzwater are pictured in the center of this ribbon cutting photo from over 30 years ago. It was in celebration of a new section of the store.
Fitzwater Furniture as it appears today.
Gary Fitzwater has been involved in the family business since he was a child.
Fitzwater Furniture staff members are pictured. From left: Paul Rowan, 18 years, Delivery Consultant; Donna Kemphfer 21 years, Design Consultant; Laura Rice, two years, Design Consultant;, Don Dawson 27 years, Assistant Store Manager/Delivery Associate; Linda Riley, 27 years, “Domestic Engineer;” Gary Fitzwater, Owner; and Jennette Fitzwater, Co-Owner. Not pictured is Jessica Getson, six years, Design Consultant.
The Fitzwater family is pictured in this photo from over 30 years ago. From left: Gary, Jennette, Bonnie and Edward.
The late Edward Fitzwater and his son Gary Fitzwater are pictured in the center of this ribbon cutting photo from over 30 years ago. It was in celebration of a new section of the store.
OAKLAND — This year, Fitzwater Furniture celebrates 75 years in business in Oakland.
First started by Edward and Bonnie Fitzwater, it is now owned by their son Gary and his wife Jennette.
“My parents were both raised during the Depression,” Gary Fitzwater said. “My father was raised in Swanton on a farm ... and my mother was raised in Deer Park and they both were raised in poverty. My father used to say he would wake up of a morning and there would be snow on his bed where the cardboard blew out of the windows to his bedroom. And my mother had times that they basically had very little food to eat.”
He explained that both parents also had physical challenges. His mother had polio when she was 5 years old, and his father fell off a horse as a young man and broke his leg. When it was set, the leg ended up being about one inch shorter than the other.
“World War II was coming on and my father was turned down for the draft because of his leg problem and then he got very ill and was in the hospital for about three months,” Fitzwater said. “His appendix ruptured and gangrene set in, so he was lucky to be alive, but after the war was over and he was actually getting better, he was hard to employ.”
He said he did have some good jobs, but he also had health expenses to pay off and they didn’t have insurance back then.
“When World War II ended, they had a small apartment on Main Street in Deer Park,” Fitzwater said. “My father always loved auctions. He had a best friend that got out of WWII and settled in the Baltimore area and he started reading about damaged claims and damaged freight auctions from the B&O Railroad.”
The Fitzwaters saw an opportunity there and decided to take it.
“They would go down on Saturday morning for the auction, buy what they thought they could sell, spend the night, and come back on Sunday to sell off their front porch and their living room on Monday,” Fitzwater said.
Sometimes, they had to hurry to the local bank to cover the check they had written for the purchases.
“So that’s how they actually started in business and they sold everything from marshmallow creme to Army surplus paint to clothing to pocketbooks and they got into damaged furniture and appliances,” Fitzwater said. “And they had success. It was after WWII. Everybody had plenty of money and hadn’t bought anything for five or six years.”
The couple was able to move into new furniture and appliances and build a new store building in Deer Park before Route 135 existed. They had an apartment in one side of the building.
“That’s where I started my life,” Fitzwater said.
At that time, the couple truly started selling furniture, appliances and TVs, expanding the building a few times.
In 1964, they bought the tract of ground where the current store is located at 1947 Maryland Highway. It was built in 1967.
Fitzwater noted that as near as he can determine, Fitzwater Furniture and Burkey’s Furniture in LaVale are the two oldest furniture stores left in the state of Maryland.
He explained that he was an only child and grew up in the business from the time he was 6 or 7 years old.
“I’d be burning cardboard or helping unpack lamps or accessories or whatever needed to be done,” he said. “So from the time I was in first or second grade, I was here when the school bus dropped me off. So I’ve been in this industry my whole life.”
By the time he got out of college, Fitzwater’s parents were no longer really interested in retail.
“Luckily, I took an interest or there would have been a time period probably in the late 70s where they could very easily have sold or closed or done something else. I think they just were tired. That’s what happens to people. So I took more and more interest in the business and here we are today.”
His father passed away about 28 years ago and his mother about seven years ago.
Fitzwater and his wife spend part of the year in Florida these days. They are thankful for great staff members.
“If it wasn’t for our staff, we would not be here,” Fitzwater said. “We would be retired totally. Due to them being here so long, I have full trust in their decision making and knowing how I like to have things done and they have full rein to make decisions. Because they make me look good, and they’re part of our extended family. I don’t consider them my employees, they are my coworkers. I look up to them probably more than they look up to me today, so I’m very blessed in that respect.”
Looking to the future, Fitzwater isn’t ready to make a decision about retirement.
“We’re here and my staff keeps us going,” he said. None of our children live in the area or chose the industry, so there will not be a third generation in the business. We encouraged them to pursue the careers they wanted. For our family, that was the right decision and they’ve all been very successful.”
Today, Fitzwater Furniture includes everything from area rugs to table lamps and wall art — anything pertaining to the home other than window treatments.
Fitzwater stated that one of the secrets to the longevity of the business is being able to adapt to change.
“Trying to read your customer base and listen to them,” he said. “Don’t assume you know more than your customer. Assume that your customer knows more than you and try to keep up with the customers. A lot of them know exactly what’s going on out there.”
Fitzwater noted that it’s been important to keep up with the trends.
“This industry doesn’t move like the clothing industry, but it is a fashion industry, so as colors and trims change, you have to adapt and gradually change your inventory to updated color and style and it changes faster than you realize,” he said.
Fitzwater said that recessions have been hard on the industry, with about 50 percent of home furnishing stores going out of business, as well as 50 percent of retail storefronts.
However, he noted that the pandemic surprisingly helped the home furnishing business. With everybody stuck at home, they started to notice that the sofa was 15 years old and they wanted to make upgrades to the walls and flooring.
For Fitzwater, his favorite part about having a business in Garrett County is the residents.
“The people in this area are just some of the most genuinely nice, hardworking people and smart,” he said. “Don’t ever underestimate the people of this area. They are just a joy. They think logically and they’ve got common sense.”
Staff writer Brenda Ruggiero can be reached at 301-501-8393 or by email at bruggiero@therepublicannews.com.
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