4th of July Parade Theme for 2023

Theme: Audubon’s Small Businesses Make Great Neighbors!

Whether you need sustenance, supplies, or services, one of the many small businesses in Audubon will be able to help you out. The town’s unique small businesses offer a variety of goods and services to meet your needs. Just like a great neighbor is always there for you, the small businesses in Audubon are right here ready to help you.

Grand Marshal - Glenn Hare of Aududon Hardware

Don’t be fooled, size does matter. Being a small business in a small town can make a big difference to the lifeblood of the community.

One small business that’s been making a difference in Audubon for decades is Audubon Hardware, the small store with a massive inventory.

Service and expertise sets the Chestnut Street shop apart from the large home improvement and big-box stores, says longtime owner Glenn Hare.

While the larger stores have materials to help people start a project, such as lumber, a store like Audubon Hardware has what someone needs to successfully complete the task. “We try to excel at the small things - nuts, bolts, service,” explains Hare. “We carry things that big stores don’t,” he adds.

“We do a lot of things that big stores don’t do; we fix screens, repair windows, cut glass, and we help you. I mean that in all sincerity. We can take the time to help you, to answer your questions” and help you find the part you need to finish your repair job or project.

“We know how to do lots of repairs because we’ve done them. We have experience,” Hare adds.

Indeed, Hare, who studied computer science at Rutgers University in Camden, grew up in the hardware business. His family owned a hardware store in Collingswood before buying the store in Audubon in 1984. Hare, who walks to work each day, bought out his mother and brother in 1991. And he’s been busy ever since, if the activity of a couple of recent mornings is any indication. Homeowners and contractors constantly pop in asking if the store has a particular item or seeking advice on how to tackle a repair.

The Audubon resident takes it all in stride; the non-stop activity and small talk is typical for the small store that excels at service.

“It’s the beauty of a small business, you get to know everybody,” Hare says with a smile.

In addition to providing much-needed service, the business also works to strengthen the community it serves. Audubon Hardware sponsors all types of sports teams in town and even donated to the town’s K9 dog, Disney.

Hare is touched to be named the grand marshal for the Fourth of July parade.

“I was surprised and excited about being named parade grand marshal. It’s an honor,” says Hare, a big man in a small town.

(Photo Credit: William Penn Bank)

Guests of Honor - Audubon Supply Company

When thinking of businesses with deep roots, few could compete with Audubon Supply Company (known around town as Audubon Plumbing). The firm was started in 1913, a mere eight years after Audubon was created as a borough.

A.H. Knoettner started the 3rd Avenue business doing installations, plumbing, heating, and spouting (roofing), explains Dillon Knoettner, company secretary. The firm expanded and eventually employed about 200 workers and fielded a fleet of 55 trucks that reached five states. Around the time of the Depression, Knoettner says, the building burnt down. The workers couldn’t afford to wait for the building to be rebuilt so many of them left. The family then decided to focus on offering supplies to tradespeople and residents. That business model continues today.

“We specialize in plumbing, commercial plumbing, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), and sheet metal,” says Knoettner. Audubon Supply now has branches in Mantua and Cape May Court House.

“We are one of the few remaining small supply houses left on the area. They’re all being bought up by corporations,” he adds. The idea of selling to a large corporation seems almost unthinkable to Knoettner, a fourth generation family member working at the business.

“It’s family for us. We don’t want to stop. It’s a family legacy for us that we don’t want to let die,” he says emphatically.

(Photo Credit: Audubon Supply Co)