[August 09, 2011] Delphos thrives on home-grown shoppers Tweet DELPHOS, Aug 07, 2011 (The Lima News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- It's not the buildings that make downtown Delphos a hit. It's not the scenery or the variety of businesses or any great population of people working or living in the district. Downtown Delphos works for one good reason: it's in Delphos. "People here shop at home. It's been drilled into them all their lives. That's what they do, and that keeps the downtown going," said Patty Kline, a Delphos native and staffer at the Museum of Postal History That loyalty to shopping local has helped keep Delphos's downtown area vital and varied at a time when many other cities of its size have given up on a central business district. The population of about 7,000 support the businesses and the variety of events that keep the downtown animated, according to Jennifer Moenter, executive director of the Delphos Chamber of Commerce. "I think it's really the pride of the people. They are proud of Delphos and are sort of independent too. They would rather shop here if they can. That's good," Moenter said. Independence is deep in Delphos's roots. The city began life as four different villages, not counting Marbletown, which was never officially a village. In 1851, the four entities merged to become Delphos and grew as one of the region's major stops along the Miami and Erie Canal. By the late 1800s, there were thousands of people living around the town and more than 100 factories to hire them. The same canal that helped build Delphos and a variety of other cities in the region also came close to finishing it off. As the popularity of the Miami and Erie dried up in favor of railroads, towns along its path dried up with it. Delphos managed to survive, in part thanks to the industry it had already established. The town saw its share of boon and bust in the years that followed, and the architecture of the downtown reflects it. One of the best remaining examples of those early boon days is the Delphos Hardware Co. Built in the 1880s by German immigrant Jean Vetter, the building remains home to a hardware store today. The Ace Hardware is one of the rare old-school hardware stores, offering seed, tools, household items and about anything else you might want. A discount table at the back of the store includes everything from a socket set to a statue of the Virgin Mary. That variety continues throughout the Main Street drag. There is a fitness club, coin shop, two museums and a coffee shop. One end of the strip is anchored by Lehmann's and Beckmann's furniture stores. The other end holds the Postal Museum and Masonic Lodge, both recently renovated. In between it all is a range of businesses old and new. Lion's Clothing and The Rustic have been around for decades, while Brentily's Steakhouse and Sports Pub is a new addition. The Hong Kong restaurant has been there since 1984, serving not only Chinese and American food but even offering breakfast after the bars close. Add in the pizza places and other restaurants within a few blocks of Delphos central, and you would suspect an over-saturation of restaurants and bars. Kline said that isn't a problem. "Let me tell you, these people like to eat. If nothing else, they spend money on food, beer and church," Kline said. Just a block west of Main Street stands The Creamery, arguably Delphos's most famous draw. The ice cream stand has regularly been voted the region's best. "We do have a good variety," Moenter said. "Our downtown is not as robust as some, but it's doing OK, and it offers a lot." Delphos has taken some major steps toward revitalizing the downtown in recent years, including efforts to clean up the canal that made the town what it is. That has helped lure more cultural events to Main Street, including the annual Canal Days festival in September. Those changes have Gary Levitt fairly optimistic about the downtown's future. As Delphos's former postmaster and current director of the postal history museum, Levitt has seen the changes up close. He's hopeful there will be more. "There are enough people starting to take a great deal of pride in the way their buildings look, it's beginning to make a difference," Levitt said. "We're holding our own, if not better. "I think this town is in its adolescent stage. It has a lot of potential, but it all depends on what people decide they want to be when they grow up." You can comment on this story at www.limaohio.com. To see more of The Lima News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.limanews.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Lima News, Ohio Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]