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Our tagline, “Godwin’s Got It!” has been true since we opened our doors in 1955. Let’s take a walk down memory lane to reminisce about our history.
Red Brummel, West Michigan Native
Red arrived home from military service and found himself working at various hardware stores — first at Beukema Hardware and later at Campbell Supply. Being a natural tinkerer with a passion for helping people, he had a vision of a hardware store that had all of the “odds and ends” folks needed to get any home project done. Red and his wife, Louise, had recently built a new home, where they were raising their children, when Red came home and announced that they would have to sell the house because his dream of owning his own hardware store had presented itself. After selling their home, and with the additional financial help and blessing of family, they had the funds to make that dream come true. In June of 1955, they purchased a local hardware store from the VandenBerg family and moved their own family into a home adjacent to the hardware store, where they lived for 15 years.
Red was a hard worker through and through. Legend has it he would arrive at the store between 3 and 4 in the morning and work until dinner. Often, Louise or one of the children would bring a warm plate of dinner to Red at his office, and after dinner, he would go home to be with his family or take them along to check out residential or small commercial plumbing jobs. Red loved to involve his family in his work and to teach them what he could. Each of his five children recalls being taught the value of hard work while they cleaned, swept, took inventory, waited on customers, and did general work in and around the store.
After a few years, Red and his team built a second location on Division Ave. that focused on plumbing supplies rather than being a general hardware store. After some advice (and a well-deserved vacation), Red built the current building we are in today to combine the hardware and plumbing supply stores, then becoming Godwin Hardware & Plumbing.
“Small enough to know you… large enough to serve you.”
It was here that we proudly employed many local folks and embodied the original slogan: “Small enough to know you… large enough to serve you.” Over the years, Red was a mentor to many of his employees and even encouraged a number of them to branch off and start their own plumbing businesses.
By 1977, we had over 25 experienced and licensed plumbers serving West Michigan. During the ’70s and ’80s, ownership began to transition as Red made steps toward retirement. In 1987, Red passed away, but his legacy carries on and his values remain part of the Godwin culture today. Ownership remained in the Godwin family as it was passed on to three long-time key employees, one of whom was Red’s son-in-law.
With a new generation of ownership came exciting changes to our business, including the addition of new locations and expanding the reach of our plumbing services.
In the late ‘90s, we expanded our services again to include Heating and Cooling, providing an in-house team of HVAC experts and installers. We also added a Water Treatment team that offers systems to improve the quality of water to homes and businesses.
We weren't done growing!
In the early 2000s, we added more space to the back of our building and created the Kitchen and Bath Design Center and Showroom.
Today, Godwin is still locally owned and operated and employs just under 200 people between our Grand Rapids and Ada stores. We are proud of our employees and their commitment and dedication to the Godwin Family. When asked, one of the current owners (and husband to Red’s granddaughter, Katie), Scott DeBoer, said the reason he has stayed with the business for so long is because of the family feel and values within the company.
“We’re here sometimes 12 hours a day. We’re often here more than we are at home, but this feels like our family. An extension of home,” DeBoer said when asked what has kept him with the company for over 28 years.
We’re proud of our story at Godwin and grateful to be a team and business that serves our local community. After over 65 years of serving West Michigan, there’s nothing else we’d rather be doing.