by Juanita | Sep 25, 2021 | 50th anniversary, Ava Lee's History Corner, Events, George's Furniture, Gifts, Rocking Chairs
Small Beginning
Beginning in 1969 and for many years after that, George and I had a booth at Springs Folk Festival. We sold our wooden lamps with woven veneer shades and lathe-turned candle holders. Cross-cut stools made from a log with the bark still on the edge added to the collection. However the most popular item were the engraved signs and nameplates. Each sign was made for the customer while they waited. Ray and Gloria Becker assisted with the many customers. Ray sanded and attached chain hangers to the plaques while George did the engraving. Later, as George and his craftsman started making furniture, the collection included tables, chairs, dry sinks, hutches. George’s famous non-tip rocking chairs caught a lot of attention.
The Springs Folk Festival Craft show
The town of Springs, PA is located in the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. The first weekend in October was the peak for beautiful fall foliage in the area. The stand holders demonstrated their craft which added authenticity to the event. Bus loads of people from Baltimore, Washington DC and Pittsburgh came. On a beautiful Saturday, cars lined up from nearby Grantsville, MD, waiting to find parking in the grass fields around the festival. On rainy days, cars got stuck in the fields and young car parkers needed to push them out of the mud.
Food brings crowds
Several other attractions were the food made by the Amish and Mennonite cooks. Homemade bread baked in an old-time beehive-shaped bake oven. Then covered with a generous helping of apple butter, made in a large copper kettle over a fire. Special “festival sausage” made with the “whole pig”, hams and all kinds of other local favorites. As business grew, George focused his attention more at home. In recent years, the next generation owners decided to attend the Sugarloaf Craft Festivals near cities like Philadelphia, New York, Washington DC and Baltimore.
by Juanita | Mar 20, 2021 | Ava Lee's History Corner, customer experience, George's Furniture, Rocking Chairs, Uncategorized
Rocking chairs are cherished for their comfortable, gentle rocking ability that calms the nerves of a hard day. Mothers enjoy their newborn babies as they rock them to sleep. This is the story of how the Dubiel family discovered George’s Rocker Recliner.
Rocker’s Lost battle
Dick and Lori Dubiel purchased a rocking chair their home. An unfortunate experience happened to their rocker. Their uncle was rocking comfortably, when the rocking chair lost its battle and broke. Looking through the phone book, Lori found George’s Woodcrafts (presently George’s Furniture)
and visited the store in Elizabethtown, PA, Lancaster County.
Customer Remembers
“My uncle rocked in my not so great rocking chair and as he pushed on the arms to get up, they broke off. I had seen George’s store in Elizabethtown so I went in to ask if he could reattach the arms. As I looked at George’s quality of work, I realized that I did not want him to see my broken chair. Instead, I went and ordered one of his rockers to replace the broken rocker. I wanted a good quality chair that would survive my two boys and George’s non tipping rocker was perfect. I purchased a rocker that George had on the floor.” -Lori Dubiel.
Quality Discovered
As a result of Dick and Lori’s rocking experience, they discovered George’s 
quality furniture. Their first furniture purchase was a walnut oval pedestal table set, dry sink and a crosscut stool. Once placing the order, the couple made small payments. However, as a surprise for his wife, Dick secretly placed additional money on their order. Lori’s mother joined into the fun and purchased her own rocking chair which she past unto her grandson. Five years later a corner hutch joined their collection.
Individual Attention to Detail
George loved to delivery his own furniture. The Dubiel’s remember their corner hutch delivery. Once the hutch was carefully placed in their room, George proceeded to checked all his furniture to be sure that no damage occurred during the Dubiel’s recent move. Years later, the Dubiels moved to South Carolina but remain in contact through George’s monthly newsletter. Discover George’s solid wood furniture in Lancaster County PA today.
by Juanita | Mar 6, 2020 | Ava Lee's History Corner, Events, George's Furniture
A Calamitous Night
George’s Woodcrafts had just turned 20 years old. George Martin’s efforts had grown a custom, solid wood furniture-making business that employed about 8 full-time craftsman. George and his family had retired for the night on April 28, 1989. Suddenly, the dog started barking and someone began pounding on the door, frantically ringing the doorbell. George bolted for the window and then yelled, “The woodshop is on fire!” “Call the fire department!” “Get the vehicles out!”
Fire Devastation
Many fire departments responded to the fire. The firemen called it an “all-nighter”. Obviously, the wood shop contained a lot of fuel for the fire. The firemen were able to save some wood stored in the lower level of the barn as well as the wood piles stored outside but the rest was a total loss—machinery, patterns, lumber in the barn, and finished furniture in the storage area waiting to be delivered to customers.
During the fire, I (Ava Lee) went to find George. He was sitting on an upside down bucket between the lumber yard and the burning barn. He looked at me and said, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord”, a quote from Job in the Bible.
Clean-up Crew
Over the next two days, neighborhood farmers and men from churches in the area came with machines and chain saws to help clean up the ruins. Women brought food to feed the hungry workers. The Brotherly Aid Insurance Company came immediately to assess the damage and quickly gave approval to release funds allowing the rebuilding process to begin within days of the fire.
A Craftsman Turns General Contractor
Following the lead of one of our craftsman, an experienced builder, our entire team of craftsmen became carpenters as they helped to build a new woodshop where the old woodshop once stood. No one was injured in the fire or during reconstruction process. The new roof rafters were set on a drizzly day in May,1989, a month that held a record-breaking 10 inches of rain. Within 3 months of the fire, one wing of the woodshop was built and we were back to crafting solid wood furniture! Our craftsman rebuilt the furniture that was lost in the fire, while work continued on the rebuilding the rest of the shop.
A New Shop Brings Efficiency, a New Kiln, a Showroom, and More!
George often said, “I was happy with the shop in the dairy barn. When God took away that one, He must have wanted me to have a new one.” The new one is more efficient, and more conducive to giving shop tours. The new shop includes room for a showroom and a wood-drying kiln on the first level.
We’d love for you to stop in! Come by and check out our shop and view our gorgeous solid wood, handcrafted furniture!
by Juanita | Sep 5, 2018 | Team Bio
Passing on The Legacy
Juanita Horst is the proud owner of the family-run George’s Furniture. She initially started getting involved in the furniture making industry while assisting her father with work in the woodshop and helping at craft shows. Later, she strengthened her communication abilities by assisting in customer service and answering phones in the showroom. She also became heavily involved in website design and other computer needs. Juanita has now dedicated 15 years to George’s Furniture and loves every minute!
Sharing Quality
Her favorite part about working at George’s Furniture is being able to share the quality of their handcrafted solid wood furniture with their customers. She absolutely loves hearing comments like:
“Wow! That is a long table” or “Quality handcrafted furniture is still being made today” or “That’s a strong table.” –Customer’s Review
Seeing the excitement when customers realize that furniture can be constructed out of 100% solid hardwood, signed and dated by one craftsman, made their way is truly a treat. Juanita thoroughly enjoys providing woodshop tours and helping customers with their design ideas to bless their home for many years to come.
Web Design
The most interesting experience that Juanita has had during her 15 years was being able to transform the George’s website and set up their accounting and customer records digitally. In her free time, she enjoys scrapbooking and reading.
Head into George’s to say hello to Juanita and the rest of the team during your in-depth woodshop tour!
by Juanita | Jun 5, 2018 | Events, George's Furniture
Experience York, PA’s annual Made in America Tours Event with the entire family! The 20th anniversary of this event will be taking place June 13th to 16th, 2018. This annual celebration is a load of fun for you and the kids, and offers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at various companies in our county.
From production floors to an alpaca farm, you will be able to explore the inner workings of the businesses who make our beautiful county thrive. George’s Furniture is happy to announce that we will be one of the stops on this exciting tour. Our commitment to high-quality American craftsmanship has allowed our business to flourish for almost 50 years.
While visiting George’s Furniture on the tour, you’ll be transported to a different world where hardwood furniture is made by skilled craftsmen. These craftsmen take great pride in their work, adding their signature to each solid wood piece they create. Enjoy watching handmade, one-of-a-kind furniture being built and imagine the possibilities while walking through our showrooms.
30-40 minute tours will be available the following days and times:
Wednesday, 8am to 4pm
Thursday, 8am to 4pm
Friday, 8am to 2pm.
See the full list of participating businesses on the York, PA website: https://www.yorkpa.org/events/made-in-america-event/
