Stanley C. Bierly Sr. (my Father, Stan) started selling radios from the family Home in Rebersburg in 1925 (he was 17). When he graduated from Penn State with a degree in Electrical Engineering there were no US Jobs Available for EE’s. – so – he started wiring houses and selling small appliances including radios.
The business grew so in 1945 he purchased a building and moved to our present location in Millheim; which, at that time was a center for commerce as a trip to State College was considered too far to travel. Beyond doing house wiring, at the new location he sold and installed large appliances, heating systems and plumbing systems.
I can remember when Television Sets started selling Dad purchased the abandoned Beacon Light Tower on top of the mountain north of Millheim and installed three Television aerials on top of the Tower for Altoona (channel 10), Johnstown (channel 8) and Lancaster (channel 8). Our Family would load up the Black and White TV in a Jeep (the final hill was steep) and transport it to the Beacon Light Tower and have a cookout and watch Snow Free TV. I can remember him telling me in its “hay day” he installed a TV and a TV Tower every day of the work week.
My Dad ushered Stanley C. Bierly (the business) through the appliance age. Customers wanted more conveniences like clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, electric ranges and television sets to name a few. They were tired of the wringer washer and hanging clothes out to dry. Stanley C Bierly was there to provide those products and service after the sale. I can remember as a kid that we had a Bendix Washer in the basement of our home that was bolted to a block of concrete to hold it down when it went into the spin cycle.
After Graduating from Penn State in Mechanical Engineering in 1963 I (that’s me, Stanley C. Bierly, Jr, I use my middle name, Curt) went to work for Packard Electric, a division of General Motors in Warren, Ohio. In 1967 Gretta a Warren resident and I were married and we moved to Angola Indiana where I managed the Indiana Division of Gettig Engineering.
Our Sons, Stan III and Alex, were born in Angola. We stayed there until 1975 then moved back to the Penns Valley Area where I worked as an Engineering Manager for Gettig Engineering in Spring Mills. About that time Dad wanted to retire and was planning to put the business on the auction block. We hated to see all the years he worked to establish the business be wasted – so – in 1975 we purchased the business and I spent daytime hours at Gettig’s and evenings hours at SCB while Gretta handled the bookkeeping.
In 2005 Stan III joined Stanley C. Bierly. Stan III graduated in 1993 from Penn State in Mechanical Engineering and has been an irreplaceable asset these past years.
In 1975 when we purchased the store an energy crisis was upon us. Oil was in short supply and the price was rising steadily. People were looking for ways to save money on their heating bill and many turned to wood and coal. We started to sell Franklin Fireplaces that were made in Mifflinburg. I can remember selling the first air tight wood stove and people were amazed that fully loaded with wood, it would last overnight. The government was starting to think renewable and was offering solar rebates. You might say that we ushed the store thru the energy age and we’re still doing it with no end in sight.
Curt Bierly is president of the bierly group incorporated of which Stanley C. Bierly is a division. He is chair of the Penn College HVAC Advisory Board. You can contact him at 814-349-3000 or cbierly@bierlygroup.com.