As a child he worked alongside his father at the family store.

In 1980, he said, the family store and home were destroyed.

In 1897, he returned to Alexandra to run the family store, his father having died.

"Connecticut is on the list of dumb states that give away the family store," he said.

A local Catholic church started a boycott of the family store and its business dropped off.

It was established in 1990, initially as small family store.

He took over the operation of the family store after his father's death in 1907.

Wall Drug is a family store, so that sort of thing is right out.

Last winter I took a second job in addition to the one at the family store.

But even the family store couldn't sell enough to keep his pottery going.