TOTOWA — Walker's Hardware may be the only place around where you're as likely to find a Lionel Rio Grande train set as you would potting soil or a hammer.

But come January, the 100-year-old store will be no more. Owner Ken Webster says he's closing up shop at the end of December.

The effort to empty the cluttered shelves and pegboard displays has begun. "Going Out of Business Sale" signs are prominently displayed in the storefront windows and throughout the store.

That means everything must go, from model trains, a lifelong passion of Webster's, to doorknobs and paintbrushes.

Webster, whose family has run the store since 1968, said he plans to sell the building on Union Boulevard. The business was previously run by the Walker family, which sold the business to Webster's dad, and another owner going back to at least 1920, if not earlier.

Webster said it's time to get away from the grind of long hours manning the shop, six days a week.

"I'm 72, and it's time to step back from it. Doing 10-, 11-hour days, it's fine. Physically, I'm good, but I have to enjoy it a little bit," Webster said.

He said that passing it on to the third generation is not a "viable option." His daughters and their families have their own lives.

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Ray and Mary Torres of Totowa have been customers of the store since 1972, and they stopped by on Tuesday to purchase cup hooks, a chain and some mounting tape.

"We're always in here. We like the personal touch of a neighborhood store," Mary Torres said. "We're so used to Ken."

Woodland Park resident Noel Assaf said: "It's sad to see it close. I love stores like these."

Mayor John Coiro, a lifelong resident, remembers as a child seeing gas pumps in front of the store, which has been a fixture in the community.

"I am sorry to see them go, sorry to see them close. Many people frequented them," Coiro said. "They're a throwback to how hardware stores used to be."

While the store will pick up additional customer traffic between now and year-end, Webster said it is a far cry from when business was booming enough that there were six full-time employees along with Webster. Back then, it sold housewares and household knives.

He said the store held its own over the years when other hardware store chains came along, including the Home Depot nearby on Route 46, by offering services such as fixing screen doors and model trains.

But he conceded that running a small business in the area has not been easy.

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"It is a kind of business that, to be honest, in a small neighborhood like this is tough," Webster said. "Several small stores in the area have gone out of business in recent years. Main Street America is not where it was."

Webster will stay at home in Little Falls after retirement, since his children and grandchildren still live in the area. And he plans to stay active in his retirement by pursuing his love of model trains, and just doing things with his wife without his schedule being dictated by the store.

"I'm trying to keep busy, but I'm trying to come up with some way if I could to maybe dabble in doing repairs and sales as well," Webster said.

"Also, do a little traveling maybe and just take it easy, and just get up in the morning and say, 'Geez, what would I like to do today,' as opposed to having to know you have to come to work."

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com

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