Pioneer Trust Bank has been doing business with Cooke Stationery for as long as board co-chair Randy Compton can remember.
He has 45 years with the bank, and it once was his job to order office supplies.
“Good, old-fashioned, hometown service,” is how he describes what Cooke Stationery provides besides paper, pens, printer cartridges and forms.
Gretchen Crowson, a trust administrative officer in the real property department, now handles office supply orders for the bank.
“We do a lot of forms, trust deeds, warranty deeds,” Crowson said. “Oh no, where am I going to get those?”
Many local businesses, from banks and wood products companies to law firms and cell tower component providers, are scrambling to find a new source.
Cooke Stationery will close its doors downtown on State Street — where it has served Salem-area customers for 88 years — at the end of April.
“It’s a shame because they’re so easy and knowledgeable,” said Michelle Masser, the office manager for Advanced Tower Components. “I can call looking for a thingamajigger, and if they don’t have it, they’ll get it for you and have it to you the next day.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do when they’re gone.”
The third-generation family owners and their employees have begun sharing the news with regular customers, and signs will soon go in the window displays.
Early history includes ‘scientifically set’ window displays
Cooke Stationery Company is one of the oldest businesses in downtown Salem. A brass plaque on the front of the brick building and a four-inch-thick scrapbook in the back office attest to its history.
James L. Cooke opened the store in 1935. He relocated five years later, a few doors east, to what is the current location.
A black-and-white photograph from the grand reopening shows a large display of greeting cards described in The Oregon Statesman as lit by a new type of fluorescent lamp.
The new location was unveiled as a “modern business emporium” with the ultimate display space and service facilities. The window displays were said to be novel, “scientifically set” in height for maximum selling surface.
The storefront looks the same today but with safety glass, added years ago when the windows broke during a next-door bar fight that spilled onto the sidewalk.
Jim Henery, Cooke’s son-in-law, began working at the store after serving in World War II. He became the manager when Cooke died in 1952 and purchased the business five years later.
Henery expanded in 1964, leasing 362 State St. next door and doubling his space. He eventually purchased the building encompassing both addresses, which the store continues to occupy.
The company sold more office furniture in the 1970s, with advertisements in the Capital Journal touting the latest in desks, chairs and filing cabinets.
Its “Mr. Stationer” logo began appearing in local newspaper ads around that time. The logo is still used today without the moniker and features a character made of office supplies — a typewriter eraser wheel with brush for the head and hair, a pencil for the body, rubber bands for the arms, and paper clips for the legs.
Third generation takes over family-run business
Kip and Colleen Henery grew up in Keizer. They worked part-time for their dad while attending McNary High School, him assembling and delivering office furniture, her dusting and filing.
The brother and sister have always gotten along, even though they were seven years apart in school and attended rival colleges, Kip at the University of Oregon and Colleen at Oregon State University.
After college, they both went to work full-time for Cooke Stationery. They managed the store after their father died in 1987 and became co-owners when their mother died in 1999.
They outlasted other local stores and survived the arrival of national chains and discount competitors, thanks to loyal customers who bring their grandchildren in and dedicated employees with decades of experience.
The six current employees have 170 years between them: Gary Godlevsky (42 years), Roma Walther (33), Page Groh (31), Debbie Adams (30), Robin Bielefeld (27) and April Johnson (7).
Their knowledge is appreciated at a store known for selling single items instead of multi-packs, such as one manila envelope, gel pen or pink eraser, and carrying hard-to-find niche products such as maps, legal forms and typewriter ribbons.
Cooke Stationery prides itself on offering customer service unmatched by chains and online stores, along with competitive prices. Joining a nationwide buying group of independent office supply dealers in the early 2000s helped Cooke Stationery purchase merchandise in volume and to pass the savings on to their customers.
“Best customer service I’ve ever had,” said Jenny Wuest, the receptionist for AKS Engineering & Forestry. She orders office supplies for the firm.
“They always deliver on time, and I can always call them with questions,” Wuest said. “If I can’t find something, they find it for me. If something is back-ordered, they track it for me. It takes a lot off your plate.”
Selling and delivering office supplies to area businesses has been the bread and butter for the company for years, accounting for as much as 80% of sales. The store makes more than 40 deliveries daily.
Owning the two-story brick building also helped keep the doors open. The business did not have to deal with increasing rent costs.
The building was built in 1880 by Samuel Adolph, one of the early downtown developers and co-founder of the first brewery in Salem. It was at risk in the late 1970s, around the same time local historians nominated it for the National Register of Historic Places.
Statesman Journal archives show city officials and downtown parking board members abandoned their plans because the designation would jeopardize federal money for the project.
The National Register added the Adolph building to the list in 1980.
Siblings agree ‘It’s the right time’ to close
Colleen Henery said she and her brother plan to sell the building once the store closes. She has been running the day-to-day operations since he retired about eight years ago. He had 40 years invested in the business, and now she nearly does, too.
Kip Henery’s investment included 535,000 miles on his Honda Civic, same transmission, same engine. He commuted for 30 years from Eugene.
While closing the store was inevitable even if the next generation had been interested in carrying on the family business, the pandemic pushed the timetable. Business has not bounced back to previous levels.
“It’s never a good time to close,” Kip Henery said, “but it’s the right time.”
His sister agreed.
“It’s been a gradual decline,” Colleen said. “We probably stayed open longer than we should have.”
Cooke Stationery will make its final deliveries at the end of March. The last day the store will be open is Friday, April 28. Store hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Many items are on sale now, and beginning in April, the store will offer deeper discounts and BOGO specials. Fixtures also will be sold.
The owners have tucked away a couple of mementos, including a 1960s Scotty McTape cutout promoting Scotch tape for Colleen and a vintage Parker Duofold clock with the second hand in the shape of a fountain pen for Kip.
They plan to make a memory book available for customers to sign, a recommendation from another Mid-Valley office supply store that went out of business a decade ago.
“I’m trying to look at it as a celebration and a thank you to Salem for 88 years,” Colleen Henery said, adding the relationships they have had with employers and customers have been rewarding.
“People seem happy around office supplies,” she said. “Watching them get excited about the hard-to-find item they bought has been fun. I’ll miss it.”
Capi Lynn is the Statesman Journal’s news columnist. Send comments, questions and tips to her at clynn@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6710. Follow her work on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.
