Tremont/Tower City home to long standing businesses

Mar. 18—When Andrea Knoll was in sixth grade, she visited a local vo-tech school and "something clicked" when she saw people working with flowers.

"I went home and said that's what I want to do," she recalled telling her mother.

Originally from the Philadelphia area, Knoll moved to Tremont when she was 13. After graduating from Pine Grove Area High School, she worked for various employers but would often stop at Moyer's Flower Shop, where she became friends with Dee Klinger, one of the employees.

Klinger opened Dee's Flowers at 22 E. Main St., Tremont, in 1991. Knoll, who worked for Klinger for 32 years, bought the business in 2007.

"I've been very blessed here because we have a very good clientele and a lot of loyal customers," Knoll said.

Business people such as Knoll are appreciated by public officials in Tremont and its rural surroundings as the effort to keep taxes low and provide services continues.

There has been some growth in the tax base with the development of massive warehouse distribution centers in the region, but there are a few long-time manufacturers that play a role, too, in the economic landscape of today's Tremont and other parts of southwestern Schuylkill County.

An 'anchor' since 1966

When it opened in February 1966 in Tremont, Richmond Screw Anchor Co. had jobs for 125 people.

Located at 55 N. Pine St., the company manufactures products for the concrete industry.

Donald Allar, chairman of the Frailey Twp. Board of Supervisors, began working at Richmond Screw Anchor two weeks after graduating high school.

"It was close to home, and the pay was good," he said.

Allar, who started as a machine operator in 1968, retired in 2015 as the head of the forging department.

In the late 1990s, Richmond Screw Anchor Co. was bought by Dayton Superior, a global company serving the nonresidential concrete construction industry with locations in the U.S., Canada, China, Australia and Latin America.

William Ochs, borough council president, said Dayton Superior remaining in Tremont all these years is "a big thing for the tax base."

Ochs and his brother, Jeff, own West End Precision, 196 S. Tremont St., a machine shop that does repairs and sells parts. The business began as a two-bay garage in 1990 and moved into its current location in 2000.

William Ochs has lived in the borough his entire life and said he hasn't thought about moving anywhere else.

James Scheibley, a Tremont Borough Council member for at least 10 years, as well as EMA coordinator and road supervisor, is thankful for those businesses that call the borough home.

"We don't have that many businesses in Tremont," he said.

With that, it's "a struggle" to keep the tax rates down, he said.

"We're pretty much landlocked. There's very little land available," he said.

The police department, which consisted of the chief and one part-time officer, was disbanded a couple years ago due to financial reasons.

"We kept both police cars," he said, adding one was given to the fire department to use as the chief's vehicle.

The pool, which was built in the 1950s, will not open this year because the walls are starting to deteriorate, he said. However, the borough did receive a state grant to pay for new playground equipment.

William Ochs agreed the pool is in "bad shape," saying the borough paid for a $23,000 survey about the pool needed to pursue grant opportunities.

"I think you're looking at four to five years until you get another pool," Ochs said.

Other businesses in the borough include Randazzo's Pizza & Restaurant, 18 E. Main St.; Pribilla's Home Center, 200 Bridge St.; the Corner Bar, 100 W. Main St.; Stine's Barber Shop, 107 W. Main St.; Small Talk, a hair salon, 24 W. Laurel St.; Shear Styles by Betsy, 12 W. Main St.; Behm's Family Restaurant, 37 Branch St.; and Integrity HVAC, 49 Branch St.

Jobs needed

About 10 miles to the west in Tower City, jobs are hard to come by.

"Economic development is needed in our area of the county," said Mayor Dan Daub.

He said the borough no longer has any "big employers." He said the largest is probably the Williams Valley School District.

Daub described the area as landlocked and a "mostly residential commuter community and retirees."

Business and warehouse development in nearby communities could help create jobs and demand for services in the area, he said. Daub described borough property taxes, at 9.7 mills, as "very reasonably priced."

"I would love to see some investment that brings jobs to the area," he said.

Residents must travel outside the borough to even shop at a grocery store. The closest one is in Lykens, Dauphin County, about 10 miles away.

Despite not having a grocery store, there are places to dine out. Hungry residents can eat at Subway, a pizza shop or even O'Neals 4th Street Station Pub, among other places.

Mike O'Neal bought the property at 345 E. Colliery Ave. in 2016, opening the pub in January 2018 after renovating it.

"This was the hotel for the train station that was out back," he said.

A friend told him the property was going up for auction and he decided to bid on it. The bar, which before sat against the back wall, was moved to the side. Stone, found behind paneling on one of the walls, was repointed to add to the rustic look. Lights were added to give it a train station feel.

O'Neal believes the bar is original to the building from 1874.

"I'd like to say we have something for everybody," he said.

The menu features wings, salads, entrèes, appetizers, burgers and other food items. There is even a children's menu.

Families, couples and just people passing through enjoy stopping at O'Neals.

"Our wings are really popular," said Robert Meany, head chef.

There are seven beers on tap and four rotating craft beers.

"Once you start coming here, you're like family to us," Meany said.

O'Neal also owns O'Neals Pub at 112 Tulpehocken St., Pine Grove.

Economic development 'robust'

Frank Zukas, president of the Schuylkill Economic Development Corp., said the current economic climate in the county is "robust."

He used that word because of "the activity level that's out there with people either under construction, under permitting or under early stage proposal development for projects at various locations."

When the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority bought the Tremont Water Co. in 1995, a water tank was built nearby and, later, water and sewer lines followed that enabled development in the area, Zukas said.

In 2000, Big Lots bought 175 acres from SEDCO and built a 1.2-million-square-foot distribution center on Route 209 in Tremont Twp.

Construction on a 1,346,755-square-foot building in Frailey Twp., off the Tremont/Tower City exit of Interstate 81, began in July 2021 and is near completion, Zukas said. A tenant has not been announced for the building at the site of the Rausch Creek Logistics Center, a planned industrial park. A second 1,040,540-square-foot building is also planned.

Allar said Frailey Twp. is blessed in not having to raise taxes in years because of the development while maintaining a healthy reserve. Because of it, residents get free trash pickup and have their sewer bills paid for six months in the winter.

It wasn't always like that.

"There was just enough money to get by because you don't have a huge tax base," Allar said. "It was rough."

Contact the writer: amarchiano@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6023