End of an Era: Vernon Hardware & Auto Supply Closes After 87 Years in Shiawassee County

There is a kind of business that holds a small town together. Not just by selling what people need, but by being a place where neighbors run into neighbors, where the person behind the counter knows your name and your project, and where the advice you get is free and honest. For 87 years in the village of Vernon, Michigan, that business was Vernon Hardware & Auto Supply.

On July 14, 2026, the owners announced on Facebook that the store would close its doors permanently on July 31, 2026. The news rippled through Shiawassee County and beyond, as residents, former customers, and longtime locals shared memories of a store that had been part of the community since before the Second World War.

Vernon Hardware was founded in 1939 by Fred Eberly in downtown Vernon. What began as a store selling furniture and kitchen items evolved over the decades into a full-service hardware and auto supply store that became a fixture of the community. The business was later taken over by Eberly's son-in-law, Roberto Fults, who carried the family tradition forward.

In the years since, the store was operated by Andy Fults and Betsy Ethington, a brother-and-sister team who are Fred Eberly's grandchildren. Together, they ran the store for approximately 30 years, continuing the legacy their grandfather started nearly a century ago.

The store was affiliated with both NAPA Auto Parts and True Value Hardware, carrying everything from nuts and bolts and plumbing supplies to paint, lawn and garden tools, and automotive parts. It also offered specialized services including hydraulic hose fabrication and small engine repair that kept local farmers, contractors, and homeowners coming back.

The owners did not cite a single dramatic reason for the closure. Instead, the decision appears to reflect the challenges that many small-town independent hardware stores have faced across rural Michigan: changing retail habits, the difficulty of competing with big-box chains and online retailers, and the natural cycle of a family business reaching the end of its run.

In their announcement, Andy Fults and Betsy Ethington thanked generations of customers and credited the store's success to "good, honest customer service". A simple explanation that speaks volumes about the values that guided the business for nearly nine decades.

The property at 7200 M-71 has been listed for sale through Century 21 Signature Realty, and the store's inventory is being liquidated through its final days of operation.

Vernon is a village of fewer than 750 residents, incorporated in 1871 and settled as early as 1833. It is the kind of community where a hardware store is more than a retail establishment. It is a gathering place, a source of practical knowledge, and a thread in the fabric of daily life.

For residents of Vernon and the surrounding Vernon Township, the closing of the hardware store means the loss of a place where you could walk in with a broken part and walk out with the exact replacement, along with advice on how to install it. It means losing a place that could make a custom hydraulic hose for a tractor on a Friday afternoon, or repair a lawn mower engine that a big-box store would have told you to replace.

It also means losing a landmark. For 87 years, Vernon Hardware sat on M-71 as a constant through changing times. It was there through the war years, through the postwar boom, through the decline of Main Street retail across rural America, and through the pandemic. It was, for generations of Vernon residents, simply the hardware store.

The store remains open through Friday, July 31, 2026, and is liquidating its remaining inventory. For residents who want to show their appreciation, visiting the store in its final days, picking up a few items, and thanking Andy and Betsy for their decades of service is a meaningful way to honor the family's legacy.

Vernon Hardware & Auto Supply is located at 7200 M-71, Vernon, MI 48476. The store's farewell posts on social media have been filled with comments from customers sharing memories of buying their first tool there, getting help with a car repair, or simply stopping in for a chat.

For residents of Vernon and surrounding Shiawassee County who will need hardware, lumber, or auto supplies after the store closes, several nearby options are available:

While these businesses can fill the practical need for tools, parts, and supplies, none can replace the history and personal connection that Vernon Hardware & Auto Supply represented for nearly nine decades.

The story of Vernon Hardware is the story of hundreds of small-town hardware stores across Michigan that have served as the backbone of their communities. They are the places where a farmer can get a part welded on a Saturday morning, where a homeowner can learn how to fix a leaky faucet, and where a teenager can buy their first set of tools.

When the doors close on July 31, Vernon will lose more than a store. It will lose a piece of its identity. But the legacy of the Eberly, Fults, and Ethington family (three generations of honest customer service, community involvement, and hard work) will not be forgotten.

If you have memories of Vernon Hardware & Auto Supply, consider sharing them with the family. And if you are in the area before the end of the month, stop in, shake Andy and Betsy's hands, and thank them for 87 years of serving Vernon.

That kind of legacy deserves a proper farewell.