W.Va. native seeks to bolster Glenville community with laundromat
Standing in his back yard, John Brown and his partner Bill Hardman laugh as they discuss living in a yurt. Photos and video by Erin Murray and Ben Hancock.
Fayette County native John Brown, 41, came to Gilmer County in 2004 to study at Glenville State College, where he's now a senior math and sciences education major. A year ago, he developed a plan to provide a clean, well-staffed laundry facility.
This is the second in a series of multimedia projects from the West Virginia Uncovered project at West Virginia University.
Click here for more stories from West Virginia Uncovered.
Click here for a photo slideshow for this story.
Click here for a video about John Brown's yurt.
Click here for a third video about this story.
By Erin Murray and Ben Hancock
For the Sunday Gazette-Mail
GLENVILLE -- With the smell of fabric softeners and fresh laundry still in the air, John Brown, a 41-year-old laundromat owner, folds a patron's clothes.
The Fayette County native came to Gilmer County in 2004 to study at Glenville State College, where he's now a senior math and sciences education major. A year ago, he developed a plan to provide a clean, well-staffed laundry facility.
Brown decided to hire three full-time attendants for Self-Suds after noticing there was little to no customer assistance at the other laundromat in town.
Glenville is making efforts to revitalize its downtown area by bringing in more local businesses, and Brown believes Self-Suds has provided a good start. A few weeks after Self-Suds opened, an antique store began doing business next door, followed by a small insurance agency on the other side.
"It's exciting in a small town, because any little spark builds up all this momentum that people can then piggyback on," said Brown.
Brown started his enterprising ways at the age of 14 by opening a print shop. Every day he would come back from school and take over the evening shift at the shop, while a family friend was in charge of the morning shift.
This is the second in a series of multimedia projects from the West Virginia Uncovered project at West Virginia University.
Click here for more stories from West Virginia Uncovered.
Click here for a photo slideshow for this story.
Click here for a video about John Brown's yurt.
Click here for a third video about this story.
By Erin Murray and Ben Hancock
For the Sunday Gazette-Mail GLENVILLE -- With the smell of fabric softeners and fresh laundry still in the air, John Brown, a 41-year-old laundromat owner, folds a patron's clothes.
The Fayette County native came to Gilmer County in 2004 to study at Glenville State College, where he's now a senior math and sciences education major. A year ago, he developed a plan to provide a clean, well-staffed laundry facility.
Brown decided to hire three full-time attendants for Self-Suds after noticing there was little to no customer assistance at the other laundromat in town.
Glenville is making efforts to revitalize its downtown area by bringing in more local businesses, and Brown believes Self-Suds has provided a good start. A few weeks after Self-Suds opened, an antique store began doing business next door, followed by a small insurance agency on the other side.
"It's exciting in a small town, because any little spark builds up all this momentum that people can then piggyback on," said Brown.
Brown started his enterprising ways at the age of 14 by opening a print shop. Every day he would come back from school and take over the evening shift at the shop, while a family friend was in charge of the morning shift.
Sometimes he would spend the night at the print shop and was awakened by the bus horn the next morning.
After a few years at the print shop, Brown moved to Charleston. At 19, he opened a computer business.
In 2004, Brown moved to Glenville. He already lived in a solar-powered cabin in Clay County, but he had his eye on a different kind of dwelling.
"I was looking through a National Geographic magazine and I saw a picture of these people standing outside of a yurt, and I thought, 'That's it -- that's the house for me. I can see myself standing right there in that picture,'" Brown said.
After only three days of construction, the yurt began to take shape. Brown began with a simple latticework frame. He then wrapped the exterior in a bubble wrap material. Finally he finished the roof in vinyl and installed a skylight made of translucent material.
Brown believes in keeping wealth within the local community.
"I figure that the people here local who are using my laundromat need a job, and they're not going to have a job if I go to Fairmont to buy stuff," Brown said.
Brown buys his snacks, sodas, soaps, and other essentials from nearby vendors.
"It makes everybody feel like they are a part of something," Brown said.
The floodplain that runs through the heart of downtown Glenville provides a built-in resistance to expansion.
"It [flooding] doesn't happen often, but it does happen often enough that it spooks off big-city people wanting to come here and open a business," he said.
Luckily, the laundromat, adjacent antique store, and insurance agency are at the east end of Main Street, which is situated four feet higher than the western side.
Until a month ago, Brown was putting money from his savings account into the business to cover leftover expenses. The hard work he has put into his business is finally beginning to pay off.
"We broke even for the first time this past month," said Brown.
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