Years before television sets glowed with color pixels, Walt Swart would stand on the roof of his Chehalis appliance store, adjusting antennas.
"Someone else would be inside, selling a TV, and Walt would be up there holding the antenna to show how great the reception and picture was," said Richard Freeborn, a salesman for Central Television and Appliance. "He sold some of the first black-and-white TVs in the area."
Swart, who helped start the Northwest Chehalis Avenue store in 1952, died two weeks ago at the age of 81. His son, Gary, 53, has taken over operations.
"He was real honest with people," Gary said of his father. "He always treated people the way he wanted to be treated."
Through his work, Walt saw the evolution of technology, Gary said. Washing machines became more efficient with a new front-loading design. Round-top refrigerators disappeared. The heated-coils on kitchen ranges turned into glass top stoves. Walt even watched television sets, the machine that was so revolutionary at the beginning of his career, change from the "picture tube" technology to plasma and light crystal diode (LCD) flat-screens.
"He had to stay with technology," Gary said. "And there were a lot of things he didn't like, but he had no choice."
One of the disadvantages of these advances was that many appliances became less intuitive to repair, he said.
"An example is that all the newer washer and dryers have computer boards, which is all well and good until something goes wrong," Gary said. "Before, everything was mechanical in nature, but they were very reliable."
It's the company's ability to service and repair products that has allowed Central Television and Appliance to compete with big box stores and remain one of the longest-running businesses in downtown Chehalis, he said.
Walt's personable service didn't hurt either, according to Freeman, who joined the company in 1978.
"If a customer wasn't sure if a range or something would fit, Walt would ask for their address and offer to go to their house and measure," he said. "He did whatever he needed to do. He was kind of a jack of all trades."
Gary left his job as a retinal photographer at Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute about a year ago to help his father at the store full-time. However, Walt continued working, nearly every day, Gary said.
"We always knew he wasn't going to retire," he said.
Doris "Pat" Swart described her husband of 58 years as a handyman, always fixing something in the house or doing yard work.
"Every day, he worked. He really did. He couldn't sit idle," she said. "He really enjoyed work and people."
Walt was working at an appliance store in his native Astoria, Ore. when he was approached by W. Lee Childers, who just happened to be passing through the town, Pat said.
"Lee was looking for someone to start a business with him (in Chehalis)," she said. "This was just when TVs were getting popular."
The two started the business in 1952, and eventually, Swart became the sole owner. He expanded the original space to include the former Evergreen Federal Bank to the south and a former tavern to the north, according to Gary. The bank's marble work still lines the store's television and electronics' room.
Central Television and Appliance has seven employees, and most are like Freeborn, who've spent decades with the business and consider the Swarts as extended family. The employees were an asset to his father, Gary said.
"He listened to what his they had to say, and always took that into account before he made a decision," he said.
Walt hired Joanne Sullivan as the bookkeeper in 1974; she retired in 2005, but was working in the store last Wednesday.
"(Employees) never seem to quit. We just keep coming back," she said. "Walt's been really good to me."
Robin McGinnis covers business issues for The Chronicle. She may be reached at 807-8231, or by e-mail at rmcginnis@chronline.com.
