Most residents of the town of Wethersfield cannot recall a time when the small paint and wallpaper store didn't sit on the corner of the shopping center on Silas Deane Highway. For over 40 years the store has been a fixture on the landscape of the small Connecicut town of Wethersfield. It's a place where people go when they need a good, quality paint, some know-how, and a friendly smile. It's one of those places where the employees still wear collared shirts and neckties in the winter, where they say "Please" and, "Thank you for coming in." They open at the crack of dawn but are closed on Sundays. It sounds like a scene from a Norman Rockwell Painting, a small piece of by-gone Americana captured on canvas, but it's not. It's United Paint and Wallpaper and the scene could be from any day of the week... well, any day except Sunday.
The man behind United Paint is Phil Lennox and he's been in the paint business since graduating high school in 1947. As a high school senior Phil managed the school's basketball and football teams in Marblehead, MA. One of the regulars that would come by to watch team practice sessions was Carl Bachelor, a salesman for a local paint company called Carpenter-Morton, and avid sports fan.
With a shared interest in sports Phil and Carl quickly became friends. It was through this friendship that Phil began to learn about the paint business and was eventually introduced to the president of the company, Dwight Morton. it should come as no surprised that after graduating high school Phil was offered and accepted a position at Carpenter-Morton. Initially, Phil worked in the company's inventory and product department but after one short year he was asked to relocate to be an assistant manager and outside salesman for the company store in Burlington, Vermont.
Phil worked in this capacity until 1950, when his career in the paint industry was put on hold courtesy of the Korean War and Phil enlisted in the U.S. Navy. While in the Navy, Phil worked at Patuxent River Naval Air Station serving in the serviceman's club for two years. He was then transferred to the Aircraft Carrier USS Randoph. While aboard the Randolph (which later gained fame as the carrier that retrieved the Apollo 13 Astronauts), Phil worked in the ship's store.
By 1954 the war had ended and Phil's enlistment was up, so he returned to civilian life. Carpenter-Morton wanted him to come back to his old job but Phil had other ideas. At the time, Phil's brother Ken was a big wig in the horse racing scene and talked him into taking a job with the New York Racing Association. Specifically, Phil's job was to travel the circuit, which included places like Saratoga and Gulf Stream, and work with a veterinarian to ensure each horse was the correct entrant. According to Phil, it was a fun and fancy free lifestyle. It was also a lifestyle that would lead him to a young stewardess named Velva, who worked for United Airlines. The two hit it off and before long decided to get married.
All the while Phil was working for the horse racing association the folks at Carpenter-Morton were asking him to return. When they discovered he was planning to get married, they offered him two months off with pay as a consession. It was an offer too good to pass up, so Phil accepted and, after his extended honeymoon, went back to work for the paint company.
Initially Phil worked as a salesman in and around the coal region of Pennsylvania and later Ithica, New York but ultimately found himself in Hartford, Connecticut running another one of the Carpenter-Morton company paint stores. This lasted until Carpenter-Morton came under new ownership and, as often happens when new owners take over; the company began to move in a different direction. It was then that Phil decided to part ways with Carpenter-Morton.
While in Hartford, Phil had gotten involved with the Paint and Wallpaper Association of America, serving on the organization's Board of Directors. It was through his involvement with the Paint and Wallpaper Association that he met fellow board member Orville Johnson, who owned State Paint in Burbank,California. When Phil left Carpenter-Morton, Orville offered him a job at State Paint as an outside salesman and he happily accepted. Phil certainly did his part in helping the company to grow, pursuing and landing large commercial accounts with Warner Brothers Studio, Walt Disney, and Lockheed Aircraft Corp. However, Phil's tenure at State Paint was short lived.
Phil worked at State Paint for about a year before he was contacted by the Benjamin Moore Company who was launching a Temporary Co-Ownership program in the Northeast. Seeing this as a golden opportunity to open his own store, Phil jumped at the chance and returned to Hartford. After some looking he settled on a small, 2,500 sq. ft. location at the corner of a small strip shopping center and in 1966 United Paint & Wallpaper (named after the airline Velva worked for) was open for business.
The store was a 50/50 split between commercial contractors and retail and each had a separate entrance. The business also included a decorating department as well as some carpeting and flooring. Since then the company has expanded the store to 4,000 sq. ft. and added staff as well as kept pace with technology and marketing trends but not much else has changed. Meaning, since day one Phil's business philosophy has simply been to be professional, be courteous, and just take time with people. As he puts it, "Don't be a know it all. Listen to people and really try to pick out what it is they need." He adds, "If I can do something for someone every day that they aren't looking for something in return, it's a successful day."
This philosophy has proved to be a success for United Paint. The company has been in business for over 46 years and customers come from all over because, as one customer said to Phil, "I know you're the only place to come to." This in spite of the fact that there's another paint store just across the street and another paint store only a block away.
When asked what has changed since he began in the industry 50+ years ago Phil says, "Technology has improved dramatically and made life much easier.I have to say though; I'm a terrible computer person. Every year I tell myself I gotta learn this or that but it never happens. At 81, I have enough to do without trying to learn computers." He adds, "Beyond that, it's gotten much harder for the independent over the years. The boxes are getting bigger and we're getting squeezed and I think the single store guy is going to continue to suffer." He concludes by saying, "The secret of the independent has always been giving their customers the right advice and treating them with respect. I think that will continue to be the secret to our success as independent companies."