Later that week, I showed up at the store set, this is where all of the product available for sale at the store is delivered and set up for display and eventual sale to the buying public. It was an “all hands on deck” sort of thing and it was nuts. There were managers from other stores there helping out and giving each department a guiding hand, then before they left, they tried to make sure that we had an idea of the products that we had for sale. Through this, Lew was there working hard and trying to get as much knowledge as the rest of us. Before we knew what happened, the store was open for business and we were on our own. Lew, being the natural leader that he was, reassured us that we would make it, we just needed time to find our footing. I must admit that the first few weeks were crazy for us: Lew, Steve, Frank, Harry and I. We had just a small bit of the knowledge needed to really sell what we had there. Some product research was done along with a good bit of studying of the catalogs that we had available. We all worked together comparing notes and soon enough we were able to become a team that worked relatively well together.
Through all of that, Lew was there. Lew turned into more than a manager though, he became a leader and a friend. He was always ready with a joke or a story. After his long years in retail, he knew too many tricks and tips to keep us moving on the road to where we needed to be. He knew how to make you relax and show the customer how to trust you, which is something that is very important, especially if you want repeat customers.
Fast forward to September 2006: I had just returned from a few days in the forests of Elk County, PA, and was full of stories about seeing the wild elk herd, roaming the mountains and just plain good times. Lew showed some interest and I gave him all of the information that I could. A few weeks later, he made a short trip to the same area and told me about the trail and mountain overlook that he found. During my subsequent trips to Elk County, I would regularly visit these areas to add to my experience and to remember a friend.
Skip ahead again, this time to mid-March, 2007. When I worked with Lew that weekend, he told me about his recent hike at McConnell’s Mill State Park, just an hour or so north of the store. When Lew would get into his story telling mood, he could hold his audience captive on just about every word. It seemed as if he could make you feel that you experienced it with him. You could say it was a type of magic that he had.
Three days later, I received a phone call from one of my cohorts in the department, Steve, he had some bad news. Lew had passed away suddenly. It was a truly tragic loss and a great shock for all that knew him. The following Saturday, we all got together with some of Lew’s friends and neighbors to remember the man that was, in a way that he would have appreciated. We had a few drinks, told too many stories, laughed a lot and even cried a little. This man called Lew touched a great many people in his life.
The “show” had to go on as they say however and those of us in the department had to keep going. I can’t speak for the rest of them but I know that there were times that I could feel Lew there guiding me. Maybe it was only in my head, but who can truly say for sure? Soon Jim became the new department manager, Harry left to enjoy his retirement, Steve and his wife Liz moved to Virginia to open another store. Eventually Jim moved onward to another department and Tyler came in as manager. Frank and I were the only original cast members left. Through the years and team changes, we always kept one of Lew’s business cards hanging in our back room.
Then came March 2009, it was announced that our store was closing. I won’t go into the why’s and wherefore’s, this isn’t the proper forum, but it seemed as if it was the end of an era, short though it was. We worked through the mark-downs and clearances. Frank was the first to leave the department after the announcement. He had found another part-time job closer to home. I told him on his last day that I was going to take Lew’s card with me on my last day and pay a little tribute to him when I had the chance. As I was telling him this, we turned around and saw Gus. Gus was Lew’s neighbor and best friend. I filled him in on my plans along with Frank. My last day came at Sportsman’s in early April, when I left that day, Lew’s business card went with me.
Frank and Gus were the only two people that knew of the plan for my tribute to Lew and here it is.
In September 2009, I made a one day trip to Elk County, PA. I brought the digiscope along as usual, got some good pictures and even a few videos of the elk herd but I brought something else, Lew’s business card. From the time that I left my house that morning, the card was on the dashboard of my truck, it was as if Lew was taking one last trip to the mountains. As the morning marched on, I made my way to one of the places Lew told me about after his trip in 2006, the Fred Woods trail. I left the digiscope in the truck and just went for a walk in the woods with the business card in my shirt pocket. After the walk through the woods, I drove further down the road to the mountain overlook that Lew told me about.
At the overlook that morning the fog was just rising out of the valley and the sky above was slightly overcast but it promised to be a good day. I pulled Lew’s card out of my pocket again and went for a short walk around the overlook. I got back to the truck in the gravel parking area and paid my final tribute to this man that we called Lew.
As the card burned itself out on the gravel that morning, I knew that a small piece of Lew would forever be there, looking out over a grand valley in the mountains of North-Central Pennsylvania.
Lew was a manager, a leader, a story-teller, a jokester and a specialist in what he did but most of all, he was a friend.
Goodbye, Lew, until we meet again one day.
