Hill’s and Van Doren’s about to become part of Hopewell’s history

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

By Ruth Luse
   Those of us who have been around Hopewell Borough for a long time will find it hard to believe that Bob Van Doren, although only 89, is actually retiring, just as we were saddened when we learned recently that J.B. Hill & Sons, the hardware (also once a lumber business) on Railroad Place, was closing after 128 years.
   I remember writing the story about Hill’s 100th birthday, back in 1977.
   Both old businesses were here long before most of Hopewell’s current residents were born. But, like many small-town ventures in this state and elsewhere, Van Doren’s and Hill’s have been feeling the pressure of competition from what many of us call "the box stores" and decided it was time to move on to other pastures.
   In the case of Hill’s, there’s a family estate to settle. Both business and property are for sale. In the case of Van Doren’s, the family business already has been sold.
   Mr. Van Doren began work at his father’s business, which over the years changed from a coal and feed business to a lumberyard, in the 1920s. He will be 90 soon and with his retirement he will have worked more than 70 years at the same place. Very shortly, when he leaves the business forever, he will have labored twice as long as most people do and has suffered some hard knocks, as most people do.
   Van Doren’s survived three fires — one in the 1970s, one in 1991 and the third in January 2004. The 1991 blaze was one of the worst fires in the history of the Hopewell Valley area. It destroyed three buildings. More than 300 firefighters from 20 companies fought that inferno, which took several days to put out. Each time, the Van Dorens recouped their losses and kept going.
   After the 2004 fire, the intrepid Mr. Van Doren told our reporter: "I’ll make out all right. I’m doing all I can." And he did. He kept the business going until now, the beginning of his well-deserved and long-overdue retirement.
   Mr. Van Doren has been running the lumberyard since 1951. His father, Jacob, started the business in 1923, making it one of the oldest commercial enterprises in this part of the state. He was a partner with his brother George Van Doren until 1999, when George passed away.
   Last week we learned that Henry Wittman, borough resident and former councilman, has bought Van Doren’s and that he and his sons plan to continue the lumber business on Model Avenue. We wish the Wittman family good luck.
   We also wish the J.B. Hill family and those who worked with them over the years good fortune in the future. Joseph B. Hill II, who announced that business’ closing weeks ago, was Hopewell’s mayor when this writer joined the HVN in 1966.
   We have a special place in our hearts here at the HVN for Mr. Hill’s daughter, Kris Provenzano, who worked at the family business until it closed. Kris worked for a time at our old office on Railroad Place up until she learned she and her husband were having triplets — now are about to graduate from high school.
   It does indeed seem strange to us that the names, Hill and VanDoren, as they have been connected with these old businesses for so long, are about to become a permanent part of Hopewell Borough’s history. We and many others will miss hearing the names, much as we miss seeing old friends.
Ruth Luse is the managing editor of the Hopewell Valley News.