In 1976 Butch & Donna bought the store from John and Betty, and John considered himself semi-retired. I don’t think he really understood the concept of retirement as he still went to the store to work every day up into the early 1990’s at age 80. Over the next few years Butch started upgrading the facility to reflect new trends and products coming of age.

Carpet was installed in the store to soften the appearance of the old style of doing business, and a new colored steel siding was installed on the exterior. In the early to mid 1980’s we started a package shipping business that shipped packages through UPS. Our daughter, Joni, did all the paper work for that part of the business while in high school. During those years the old Rumford Falls Light & Power building next to the store was purchased for storage and then converted into a grain storage building. In the late 1980’s with our son Chip’s help, we installed our first computer system. It was a fairly basic system, but Chip wrote a program for it while still in high school so we could do our accounts receivables on it. He also used the computer for the store’s direct mail advertising. We have had many upgrades since then and are now e-mailing statements to our customers.

The old pole building that housed lumber was torn down and a new 40 x 80 steel pole building was erected to house lumber, plywood, insulation, & roofing. It had two drive- thru bays and was probably one of the first drive-thru lumber buildings in the area. In order to keep true to our philosophy of taking a look at everything (even out-of-the box) for something new to sell, we decided to look back at some of the products that worked for Charlie and John. That look brought us back to grain–both dog and cat food and farm animal grain.

Shortly before this building was erected, a “refer” railroad car was purchased to house truckloads of sunflower seed and grain. It was insulated and eliminated many problems from squirrels and mice getting into the grain products. It also was a maintenance-free building. After a few more years went by, the old grain building was torn down and a new 32 x 50 building was attached to the end of the lumber shed on the Weld Street side and was used for more grain, hay, and an expanded lawn and garden section. This section was kept intact and the New Store is attached to it. This older portion is now used for receiving, a work shop, glass cutting, screen repair, and extra storage. A Quonset hut building was erected for storage of more building materials and a place to store extra lawnmowers and snow blowers.

Speaking of out-of-the box, for a time in the 1990’s we produced and packaged Towle House Moose Candies. Then shortly after 2000, culverts were added to the product line as something new to sell. We also started selling propane from a bulk tank and are now doing both bulk filling and tank exchanges. Other portable fuels in the product line are K-1, pellets for pellet stoves, and bundled firewood. Recently a new line of men’s and women’s leisure and work ware clothing has been added.

2007 and 2008 saw the biggest change in the corner of Weld and Main Streets in nearly 100 years. Towle’s Corner Store was built, followed by the all new Towle’s Hardware. The town’s former librarian Althea Fish said, “ The Towle’s finally made it to Main Street.” The whole family was involved in the design and layout including size, style, and color. After 100 years of discussing how a hardware store should be built and how it should look in Dixfield, we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted. The new store is actually on the site where the steel posted lumber sheds were built. The lumber department has been expanded and is now located in the back yard behind the hardware store building but easily accessed from the back door. The new grain building is attached to the main store at the end of the building and is where the railroad car used to be.

We have tried to keep as much in the main building as possible as convenience was a primary goal. The floor in the new store is something we are very proud of and have received many compliments on it. It starts with a regular cement floor and is then coated with what is called a poured floor. It is quite durable and easy to clean, another goal, as we had washed and waxed floors at midnight much too often and for too many years. The transition from the old store to the new one was accomplished in one weekend. With friends and family working very long hours for two days, everything was moved and set up in the new store in record time. The back door of the old store was almost opposite the front door of the new store so we had continuous walkway from one to the other.

At the entrance to the new store is the granite top step from the old hardware store that John had put in when the wooden steps were replaced in the 1960’s. In addition to the granite steps, many artifacts from the old store are on display. This is a way of honoring our past while moving into the future. Also on display is a small portion of John’s tool collection. The majority of his collection (his life-long hobby and over 1000 items) is on permanent display at the Dixfield Historical Society.

Now that the new store has been built, our goal is to search for new and innovative ideas for products to sell in our store, as well as looking for ways to improve service and benefits to our customers. We will continue to strive for the best shopping experience with convenient parking and easy access to the store–with friendly, courteous, and knowledgeable people to serve you. We continue to invest in technology with several new services and products coming that will benefit our customers in the near future.

Over the years we have been blessed with many loyal employees. Eddie Ellis has been with us for over 40 years and really is considered part of the Towle family. His knowledge of the business has been a mainstay for so many of our customers. He has been a loyal and faithful employee who has given us many years of courteous, fun, and faithful service.

When all is said and done, we hope that what we are doing and have done is an improvement to the town and that our investment in Dixfield will promote more business and housing and that Dixfield is a good place in which to live and work with goods and services available close to home. We are grateful to our forefathers who have fostered an entrepreneurial spirit when they planted apple orchards, logged the land, built sawmills, invented necessary items, quietly helped Dixfield citizens in various ways, and made it possible for several businesses to be located in Dixfield.

The Towle family has considered Dixfield our home for over 100 years. We are indeed thankful to the Dixfield community for your support here as well as that from all the surrounding towns. We hope for your continued patronage as we go forward into the future with the fourth generation at Towle’s Corner Store and at the ever-changing Towle’s Hardware and Lumber Company.