The Wacky Cyclists

Believe it or not, there are three people that work here at the shop who have chosen to ride either unicycles or bicycles to work. The bicyclist (who also happens to be the company President) is an environmentalist who jokingly claims that due to the amount of oil needed to lubricate the chain on his bike, he has estimated that he gets over 200,000 miles per gallon on his bicycle. This rider also claims he’s going to ride to work all winter (which will be a first). He also has vowed to ride his age in miles on each birthday, and for the last two years he has done that. What combs everyone’s hair a little backwards is that he is not hesitant to remind everyone of his accomplishments. At the same time, if he ever misses riding his bike to work, there isn’t a person in the shop who doesn’t relish rubbing it in!

The unicyclists, however, really take the cake! They prefer to remain nameless, so we will simply refer to them as workers from the packaging department. They like to get to work at 5:00 a.m. to be ready for the rest of the crew that starts arriving shortly after. To do so, they leave their homes in Kidron (about six miles away) at 4:30 a.m. to get to work on time. They travel on the treacherous Zuercher Road with Schneck Hill on the West end that is so steep that when riding downhill on a bicycle, it is not unheard of to hit 45 miles per hour. On a unicycle, you have to work as hard going downhill as going uphill or you will loose control and end up flat on your backside! They take precaution by attaching bright LED lights to the brim of their baseball caps and a reflector on their backsides to keep from being run off the road by the early morning milk trucks.

This past summer, a brother of one of the unicyclists (who shares the same hobby) visited. To celebrate their reunion, the brothers chose to unicycle across Wayne County together, a 26-mile jaunt that took a little over six hours. We believe that was an historical first and it earned its way into a nice photojournalism article in the Wooster Daily Record newspaper. Do you have to be a little wacky to work at P. Graham Dunn? Not necessarily, but generally you fit in a little better if you are.

~Peter Dunn

Shop Christmas at P. Graham Dunn

Christmas Open House

November 12 & 13, 2009

We just wrapped up on of the most popular events we have ever held at P. Graham Dunn. Being that this was the first year for our Christmas Open House, we didn't know what to expect. In fact late in the week before the event there were few tickets reserved and some very nervous people at the store. We knew we had lined up a fun schedule of events, but if no one showed up it would be all for naught. Ticket reservations took off about 6 days before the first evening of the open house and we expected about 150 to 200 guests to arrive. When the doors did open, over 400 people attended! There were free snacks all through the store, with nearly a full meal provided by Broken Rocks Cafe of Wooster - Unbelievable! They decided that a tasting just wasn't enough. LeAnn Miller of Amish Country Living was the host for the evening and guided guests through cooking demonstrations by Coblentz Chocolates, Sally Lahmer, Trish Berg, and the Mariatha School. There were craft workshops by Cummings Floral, Thymbles, Pink Tomato, and P. Graham Dunn. All this and much more. Then, on Friday night we did it all over again and this time over 600 guests came out to attend. That's over 1000 people in 2 days. Now that we have an idea of the scope of this event, we will be turning it up a notch for 2010! Thank you to all who helped make those evenings so much fun.

Be sure to stop out the week of Thanksgiving for our big Christmas Sale on Wed, Fri, and Sat.

Christmas Open House

How many Christmas Trees?

If you had stopped in our Factory Store in Dalton, Ohio the last couple of weeks, you would have seen a busy group of people decorating for Christmas. When the dust settled and we were able to take stock of what was done, we were amazed to find 72 Christmas Trees had been placed throughout the store! The tallest tree required the use of heavy equipment simply to adorn it with decorations. There is no better time of year than when the whole world is reminded of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. 'Tis the season to celebrate!

Saving Green by Going Green

Sometimes you can save a little green by going green. If you have been in our Factory Store in Dalton, OH in the last couple of weeks you may have noticed a steady crew working their way through the store changing out light bulbs. We are doing more than just answering the question, how many Mennonites does it take to change a light bulb? Like nearly every business across the country, P. Graham Dunn has spent considerable resources identifying and correcting wasteful and inefficient ways in which the company operates. A big part of our business is the use of computer controlled CNC routers. It requires a good deal of electricity to run these machines. After a careful review of our energy use we found that our retail store track lighting was drawing a lot of that electrical usage. Now I'm no electrician, but I do know basic math. While the cost to change out all the lights in our store (about 600 in total) was rather significant, we found that the return on investment would come in after merely 1.5 months of use! The compact fluorescent lights have to warm up a bit before reaching the full intensity, but there was no loss in light. They do have a slightly different color compared to the halogen bulbs, but we're pretty sure it actually looks better. We are almost done changing out the remaining bulbs and we invite you by to see for yourself. It feels good to save energy, but it feels even better when it can have a positive impact on your finances as well. If you haven't looked into compact fluorescent lights for your home, there are plenty of resources on the web to help you compare energy costs.

Appreciation Sale

Thousands have stopped by P. Graham Dunn in Dalton, Ohio this week for our Appreciation Sale. There is still a couple days left and we still have a lot of food, snacks, games, balloons, crafts, movies, sale merchandise, activities, and most of all fun to be had. Best of all - it's all free! Bring the whole family.

A few sale items of note:

There are a number of colorful outdoor chairs available for a special price of $175 each through Saturday. Each is guaranteed not to fade and are made from recycled plastics. Regular price is $299!

We also have a number of large pieces perfect for a church or large great room. Currently there are 4 carved mantel pieces available as is for $500 (obo). Regular price on these would be $2000 or more. We have a few framed Albena prints. This is a grand white horse wrapped in multiple frames of carved cherry. Regular price on these are $1999 and they are available through Saturday for $1000. Lastly there are about a dozen dinette sets, buffets, and hutches that we are selling off the floor, as is, at 25% off.

Offers are good through 5pm on Saturday at the Dalton, Ohio location only.