It's truly the end of an era. On the last day of September, local businessman Paul Runyan, owner of Runyan's Jewelry in downtown White Salmon, will retire.
Runyan, 70, has operated a jewelry business for several decades. He opened his first shop in Bingen in April 1954 in the 200 block of W. Steuben.
"The phone number there was 4433," Runyan recalled. "There was no prefix."
He moved his business to Camas in the early 1970s, but civic business leaders in the community implored him to bring his business back.
"Don Warneke was head of the Chamber of Commerce then, and he wrote to me to ask me to consider opening a store here in White Salmon," he explained. "He said one of the things White Salmon needed was watch repair and a jeweler."
Mr. Runyan has been at his White Salmon location -- 137 E. Jewett Blvd. -- since 1976.
"I've always been a jeweler and a watch maker," said Runyan, who earned a degree in watch repair from the Elgin Watchmaker's College in Elgin, Ill., in 1953.
The jewelry business runs deep in the Runyan family. His grandfather, William Leonard Runyan, opened a jewelry store -- also called Runyan's Jewelry -- in Vancouver in 1917.
"The business is still going strong. It's operated by my cousin now," Runyan said.
His father, Emerson Leonard Runyan, operated the Runyan's Jewelry store in Camas.
"He's still living. He's 92," Runyan said.
"But he's retired now," he added with a laugh.
Beyond his business successes, Runyan has a distinguished record of achievements in the community.
"I was Exalted Ruler of the Elks in 1964," he said. "I was active in the Lion's Club, and active in the Masonic Lodge."
As might be expected given his longevity, Runyan has witnessed many changes in the marketplace over the years. A number of the changes served to cut into his sales.
"There were probably twice as many businesses operating in the community when I first started," he said. "The modes of transportation were not as good, and the roads were not as good; you couldn't be in Portland in an hour. There were lots of gyppo loggers when I started, and they all spent money in the community."
Some of the changes hurt at a personal level as well as with the financial bottom line.
"We used to sell a lot of class rings, and got to know a lot of students. Then the schools started selling the rings themselves," he explained. "We still sell a few."
So why did he decide to retire now? In a roundabout way, he pointed out that his profession gave him a telling clue.
"When I started selling wedding rings to the grandkids of the people I sold rings to originally, that's when I started thinking it's time to retire," he said.
According to Runyan, the business has been sold, but will remain a jewelry store.
"I was looking for someone to maintain it as a jewelry store," he said. "The community needs a jewelry store. If not for that, I'd have retired sooner."
His employees will miss him.
"It's been great. He makes you feel very at ease, like you're one of the family," said Louise Meduna, who has worked at Runyan's for 15 years. "It's been really easy to work for him."
White Salmon Mayor Linda Jones praised Runyan for his work on behalf of the city.
"He's always been a good supporter of the community and of the business district," Jones said. "His retirement is well-deserved. I wish him the best of luck."
Runyan had nothing but praise for residents of the Bingen-White Salmon community.
"I can't say enough good things about the support I've received in the years since I've been here," he said. "I have so many friends in the community."
In a final gift to the community, Runyan plans a month-long retirement sale that will feature discounts of 40 percent to 50 percent off everything in the store, except for special orders.
"The sale will be ongoing until the end of September," he pointed out. "We plan on selling everything until it's gone."
Once he locks the door to his business for the last time on Sept. 30, Runyan said he just wants to take it easy with Barbara, his wife of 51 years.
"I hope to be able to just relax," Runyan said. "I'd like to see more of the state of Washington. And my wife dreams of going to Vermont to see the leaves change in the autumn."
Runyan said he'd probably miss the jewelry business.
"I have many happy memories here, but things have a way of changing," he said.
Caption: Paul Runyan, who will be retiring at the end of the month, stands beside the classic antique cash register, built by National Cash Register Co. of Dayton, Ohio. The machine has patent date of 1893.
He noted that the register would not be included in the sale of his business. "It's not going to be sold," he explained. "It actually belongs to my dad."
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