Working after school at Weldon’s Hardware
I grew up in West Collingswood, and got to know Ed and Marie Weldon at St. Lukes Church, and as a customer of their store. While attending Collingswood High School, I was fortunate to have a part-time job at their storeprobably the best job that a teenaged boy could have. He was a wonderful man to work for, with a patient, gentle way. He had a warm smile and he shared it often. Like my father, he was a common, everyday hero: I was surprised to learn in the obituary that Ed Weldon piloted a B-17 during WWII, was shot down, and held in a German prison camp. Over the many hours of conversation I had with him, he never breathed a word of his wartime experience.
He taught me many skills: how to cut and thread iron pipe; make replacement keys; fix torn screens; cut glass, and glaze broken windows. He was slow to anger; I cant remember him ever raising his voice.
I can picture him now at closing time, attaching a long pole to the outdoor awnings and slowly cranking them closed. While he tended to that, I would transfer the wheelbarrows and other outdoor displays back into the store. As he cranked, Mr. Weldon would call out to passing friends and say good night with a wave and a smileeveryone knew him. Then he would return inside, and close and lock the front door after me, with a cheery see you tomorrow!
Good night, and thank you, Mr. Weldon.
Posted by Mark Lohbauer
Tuesday August 21, 2018 at 7:48 pm
