Sidney "Sid" Radner traveled throughout the Middle East on buying trips for Persian and oriental rugs. His trips included Iran and India, where many fine rugs were made.
In 1980, the company celebrated its 75th anniversary. There were 5 employed with a combined experience of 137 years. The company installed the first Monsanto Astro-Turf playground in the United States. It was situated on a playground on Chestnut Street in Holyoke.
In 1983, an ad stated that customers would receive a free home computer upon purchasing at least 50 square yards of DuPont Antron carpeting. People were starting to enter the computer age.
The Radners were now in their third generation of family employees when Bill Radner joined the firm full-time after completing college in 1972. He took on a more active role and became president when Sidney Radner approached retirement from full-time work in 1989. Bill's wife, Lisa Radner, became more involved in the day-to-day operation.
The company offered the services of a decorating associate to assist customers with their decision-making.
By the 1990s, the list of satisfied commercial, government, and institutional customers had grown to impressive numbers. The directory included Mt. Holyoke College, Monsanto, Westvaco, Mastex, Holyoke, Baystate, and Mercy Hospitals, Clayton Insurance, Goss & McClain Insurance, Phoenix Insurance in Greenfield, Congregation Rodphey Synagogue, Sisters of Providence Mother House, Marion Center, the Deerfield Inn, Eastside Grill, Yankee Pedlar, the VIP lounge at Washington's National Airport and for U.S. Air at Bradley International Airport. It was stated that 1/3 of the customers hailed from Holyoke, while the remainder were throughout New England and New York. There were also countless residential customers.
Sidney Radner died in 2011. His legacy included the success of the American Rug Company and his outside interests, which will be told in Part 4.
In April 2022, William and Lisa Radner announced their retirement from the 117-year-old family business. The building was sold that year, and a going-out-of-business sale was taking place. The final auction of the remaining inventory took place on October 1st and 2nd, 2022.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
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