Ely's Old-Fashioned Candy

As late as 1914 this block had open lots with some homes and retail establishments scattered in-between. By 1924 it was filled primarily with retail establishments.   Our information about the businesses at 228 Sheridan starts in 1940 (or before) with the Arrowhead Tavern. 

The Arrowhead was a quiet establishment which was only licensed to sell beer and only beer with a low alcohol content – beer with 3.2% alcohol or less by weight. As was traditional in this type of establishment, an illegal bottle of hard liquor was stowed under the bar to allow trusted patrons the option of purchasing a non-licensed and illegal shot of brandy to supplement the weaker malt beverage legally served.   Read the backstory below to learn more about the Arrowhead.

After 30 plus years as a tavern the building was acquired by John and Mary Reichensperger who sold shoes here under the name The Ely Family Shoe Store for another 30 years. It spent time after that as a gift, furniture, and antique shop. In 2017 it was purchased by Michael J. Gronski and became the Old-fashioned Candy Store you see today. 

The Arrowhead Tavern was run by Joe Chrep and his wife Barbara. 

The Arrowhead was frequented by older gentlemen who wanted a little quiet relaxation at the end of the day.  You could pretty much count on discretion at the Arrowhead. And perhaps for this reason it was also the site where particularly tall, yet slightly underage patrons went to get a beer after a hard day at the nearby Junior College. A local resident remembers walking into the Arrowhead and being met by Mr. Chrep, the long-time owner.  

Mr. Chrep, with a heavy Slovenian accent, asked him “You got papers?”   

The underage (but tall) resident replied, “What kind of papers?”

Mr. Chrep: “You know, license.”

The resident, who certainly had a driver’s license, responded, “Sure I’ve got papers”. 

And so that day, the underage (but tall) resident became a somewhat regular patron of the Arrowhead.   

There is a story that in the late 1960s, the local police had to take action and that there was a raid. Mr. Chrep was shut down for a brief period, and several slightly underage (but tall) young men were charged. Mr. Chrep felt so terrible about the whole incident he went over to the jail, visited the boys, and brought them food.  

Joseph Chrep was born on 08/20/1898 in Pennsylvania to early Slovenian immigrants. His wife who helped to run the tavern was born in Yugoslavia in December of the same year.  They never had children and died in the early 1970s within two years of each other.

The picture displayed of Joseph Chrep with the number 402 over his head is Joseph’s Mine Employee Identification picture. All mine employees from the period had pictures like this taken to ensure the ‘right’ person received their pay.

After the Arrowhead, for almost three decades, the building housed the Ely Family Shoe Store, run by John and Mary Reichensperger.  

Then it was home to Timber Ridge Trading, which sold rustic furniture and accessories, Kris Schmidt proprietor. The building was also home to Homespun Acres, an antique shop, which shared space with Timber Ridge, for a time.  Most recently (2017) it was purchased by Michael J. Gronski and became the Old-fashioned Candy Store you see today.

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1940 (or before) – The Arrowhead Tavern, Joseph and Barbara Chrep

1970 (about) – The Ely Shoe Store, John and Mary Reichensperger proprietors

1999 – Timber Ridge Trading, Kris Schmidt Proprietor

2013 – Homespun Acres Antiques joins Timber Ridge, Pam Bennett and Kathy Johnson proprietors

2017 – The Old-Fashioned Candy Store  

The Sanborn Insurance Maps 1900-1924.

1900 AND 1907 Ely City Directories

Ancestry.com. Accessed April 8th, 2022.

Ely Phone Directories from 1949 to 2020 (available at the Ely-Winton Historical Society).

Information from a once underage (but tall) resident

Information from Kris Schmidt (owner)

Information Michael J. Gronski (current owner)