Don Wernli accomplished a couple of notable things in 1953. He fathered a son named Paul Wernli, and he opened a store named Don’s Radio and TV.
Paul Wernli is now 64 years old, the same age as the store, Don’s TV and Appliance — the name has evolved over the years as well as the location — and Paul has decided to close up shop and retire as one of Perry’s most veteran merchants.
“We’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Wernli said Tuesday, “but just finally decided here last week.”
Paul and his wife, Laurie Wernli, have a 2-year-old grandchild — their first, he said — who has been living in Wichita, Kan., and visiting the tyke has been an easy weekend venture for the Wernlis, but now the little fellow has been removed to California.
“That’s no easy weekend drive,” Wernli said.
The grandson’s California move hastened the store’s contemplated closure, he said, which will happen toward the end of June in a kind of soft closing.
“My wife bought tickets to California for the end of next month,” Wernli said, “but if we’re not quite closed by then, we’ll shut the doors for a week or so and then finish up when we get back.”
Don’s operated at 210 W. Willis Ave. from early on until 1979, when the present building at 912 Center St. was built. Big savings can be had in the store’s closing weeks on items from washers and dryers and TVs to box springs and mattresses. There is also still a generous supply of the store’s core stock of electronic ware.
