You Can’t Build There, That’s A Swamp!
It takes a man with a vision to
get things done. The problem is that
visionaries and small towns generally don’t mix. Visionaries are often
misunderstood and mocked because
they have the ability to see things others simply don’t see. That was the case
with Ora Yoder and his radical idea of
building a “super center” in Shipshewana in the 1960s.
Americans were discovering the
wonders of “one stop shopping” as
shopping malls began to pop up across
the nation. In the minds of many
country people shopping centers were
a big city phenomenon, but Ora Yoder
believed it would also work in a town
the size of Shipshewana. Yoder’s vision
from the beginning was to have a hardware store, a grocery store and a fabric
store in one location. However, not
everyone shared his enthusiasm.
Janet Schrock, president of the
Shipshewana Area Historical Society,
remembers that people complained
about the proposed location on State
Road 5 because it was a low, swampy
area. They said it would never work. On
by Harold Gingerich
top of that, local bankers would not
lend Yoder the money he needed for
the project. Not only did they question
the location, apparently Yoder’s age
was also a factor in the bank’s decision.
Ora was already in his 60s. Schrock
says that in the end it was a group
of Amish investors who came to his
rescue.
In 1968, Yoder built the super center for his dry goods store, and Yoder’s
Shopping Center opened for business.
He rented space to Paul Miller, the
owner of Wana Hardware Store which
for years had been a mainstay on
Morton Street in downtown Shipshewana. Bill Miller Sr., from Topeka,
also rented space and opened a branch
of his Topeka IGA Grocery Store. Not
only did Yoder have the three stores
he had originally envisioned, Dr. Dean
Brubaker opened a dentist’s office in
the southeast corner of the building.
In 1979, Perry Yoder (Yoder Meat
and Cheese) approached Winford Jones
about coming to work for him in the
hardware store he had purchased from
Paul Miller. Nate Jones says, “Dad
told him ‘only if I can have an interest in the company.’” And so, Winford
became a part owner of the hardware
and the name was changed to Yoder’s
Shipshewana Hardware Store.
By 1980, the lawn mower sales and
repair division of the hardware store
was sold to Gary and Pat Miller, Paul
Miller’s son. For a number of years
Wana Engine Center operated out of
an adjacent building on the northwest
side of the Yoder Shopping Center
property. The Millers put up a new
building on the west side of State Road
5 on the north end of Shipshewana
where they continue to operate both
Wana Engine and Wana RV.
Winford Jones purchased the
entire hardware store in 2004, and
continues to operate Yoder’s Shipshewana Hardware, Inc. with his son Nate.
This year, Yoder’s Shipshewana Hardware and Yoder’s Department store
joined a growing trend in Shipshewana
and expanded their stores with a large
section that was added on to the back
of the Yoder Shopping Center.
The Davis Brothers Hardware stood on the east side of Morton Street in Shipshewana just south of the current Wells Fargo Bank.
Photo courtesy of the Shipshewana Area Historical Society.
The Hometown Treasure ·· Nov.. ‘11 · pg 19
The Hometown Treasure Nov.