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Before revolution, Cowls was turning, N. Amherst company led by 8th, 9th generations
BY PHYLLIS LEHRER STAFF WRITER
[Originally published on: Monday, February 27, 2006 - Daily Hampshire Gazette ]
AMHERST- 1741.
King George II was on the throne in England. George Washington was 9 years old.
The colonies had yet to coalesce into a country called the United States.
And in the Valley, Jonathan Cowls cut trees and started a lumber business on property that was the third precinct of Hadley, but is now known as North Amherst.
'We've been on the same property since then,' said Gertrude Como, an eighth-generation descendant of Jonathan Cowls.
 Fast forward 265 years - and the business Jonathan Cowls founded is still cutting timber, as W.D. Cowls Inc. At times, the Cowls who founded the business took his portable sawmill to sites in the region to cut wood, according to Como.
Today the trees come to the 125 Sunderland Road sawmill, where an observation deck enables viewers to see how a full-size tree becomes a 2-by-4 or other variously sized planks, while the mountains of saw dust grow outside with each turn of the toothed blade.
Comoand her nephew, Evan Jones, a member of the ninth generation, spoke recently of what it takes to stay in business for centuries. For them, it's a combination of personal service, listening to customer needs and then meeting them. It's also means taking risks and occasionally leaving town before becoming part of history.
The personal service is possible because Cowls Building Supply is not a mega-store. Customers and employees know each other and have for decades. 'It's a personal touch,' said Evan Jones, who works day-to-day behind the counter.
The long reach of history means the store has hired children of customers, who now have children of their own, said Como.
As for taking risks, Como said her brother, Paul Jones, took a chance when he opened the building supply store in 1980. 'When my father (Walter Jones) heard how much Paul borrowed (to launch the store) he had a fit. He said, 'Have you flipped your lid?' ' Paul was willing to take that risk and now Evan is the same age as Paul was and he's taking a chance.'
It was Evan Jones' idea to open a 2,800-square-foot kitchen and bath design center as an extension of the building supply store. The store had kitchen and bath cabinets and fixtures on display, but on the second floor that wasn't effective. Nobody knew it was there, he said.
The new center, with high ceilings and bright walls, features supplies of doors, windows, hardware, flooring, paint, moldings and counter tops, as well as the kitchen and bath cabinets with the design and decoration done by local residents.
Evan Jones said the new center was a response to a survey sent to 1,000 customers. 'We asked for feedback and they said we need a better display,' he said.
It's also a response to the big-box stores proposed on Route 9 in Hadley. 'The Lowe's and Home Depots will put fliers in your mailbox every day to remodel. We hope they read them and get inspired to come to us,' Como said.
'The younger generation is willing to take a risk and work hard. The old tend not to want to go to the next level,' Como said of the dynamics of a family business.
And she fully supports her nephew's decision. 'It's fabulous,' she said.
The aunt and nephew both grew up with the family business. 'I grew up taking lumber orders at home at night. The family business is in the genes. You learn by immersion,' said Como.
However, she didn't become an immediate employee. Instead she left town, entered the Peace Corps, taught school in various states around the country before coming back to Amherst in 1986.
When he was growing up, though he worked at the store during summers, Evan Jones said there was no expectation for him to join the business. 'But I grew up with it.'
He admits to a few rebellious years in college, before completing his degree at the University of Massachusetts, where he majored in wood technology.
However, he didn't join the family firm upon graduation. Instead, he moved to the eastern part of state where he worked for - no surprise here - a lumber yard. After a few years, he said, 'I realized how nice a town I left.' He came back to Amherst in 1996.
By the same token, he has no expectations for members of the 10th generation - his three children - to join the business. They are Hannah, 4, Rachael, 2, and infant Samuel, 'I hope they do want they want.'
COWLS GENEALOGY
How did the Cowls family, which founded W.D. Cowls in 1741, become the Jones family?
Walter Dickinson Cowls had one daughter, Sara. Gerald Jones, who was from Nova Scotia, worked for Cowls and married the boss's daughter, according to Como.
They had one son, Walter Jones, who in turn had three children: Gertrude, Paul and Denison.
Steeped in lumber trade history
BY PHYLLIS LEHRER
[ Originally published on: Monday, February 27, 2006 ]
AMHERST- In its 265 years in business, W.D. Cowls has been part of the nation's and Valley's history.
Lumber from the sawmill has been used in campus buildings in the region, according to Ruth Owen Jones, the historian of the family. The account books she has list wood purchased for Williston Hall at Amherst College and for buildings at the Massachusetts Agricultural College, which Walter Dickinson Cowls attended.
Mass Aggie, as it was known, became the University of Massachusetts and is one of the biggest business accounts at Cowls.
The company provided lumber for railroad ties for the Boston and Albany Railroad, the Holyoke Street Railway, which W.D. Cowls helped found, and telegraph and telephone poles and bridges.
The trees of Massachusetts were featured at the Forestry Building at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. W.D. Cowls helped provide some of those trees.
Today, its roots are even wider. The sawmill ships timber around the country today, said Evan Jones.
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