Tomball shop displays hundreds of area brands

Inside and out, the former Froehlich's Hardware and blacksmith shop shows its age with cobwebs and broken windows, but its legacy survives on the walls. Burned into sides of the building are hundreds of brands handmade by Norman Froehlich who made his mark in the community as an established blacksmith.

The shop stands at 19331 FM 2920, and although it has remained vacant for 15 years, Froehlich's descendants have no plans of tearing it down. People continue to come from miles to see their family brands immortalized in Norman's shop.

Fritz Froehlich, Norman's grandfather, founded the blacksmith shop in 1882, and people came from far and wide to have wagons and coffins built. Fritz, a German immigrant, passed down his craft through generations, and in 1932 the shop was rebuilt to sell hardware and other items.

"If other stores didn't have it, Dad would," said Jean Wailes, Norman's daughter. "And people would come in not even to buy hardware, but to just sit and listen to Dad's stories."

It was a family run store to its core, avoiding formal and impersonal commercial flourishes. It was labeled by a homemade sign reading, "Froehlich's Hardware," with no mention of Norman's blacksmith craft, and a cardboard sign showed patrons the store hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on Sundays.

Norman made nearly 2,000 brands for Texas ranchers, and even made smaller models to mark steaks at area restaurants. And although the brands make eye-catching dcor, his decision to brand into the walls went deeper than interior design.

"It was for posterity, but also to be sure the brands were branding evenly," Jean said. "He would make sure they were not too thick in some places, or too thin in some places. It was a test that they were made right."

At one point, the shop featured an old-fashioned, self-pumping gas station. While it has long since been removed, Norman's second daughter, Elaine Benfer, said she remembers pumping gas as a child and watching it fill into the glass holding tank before funneling into the car.

Up until he died in May 1997 at age 85, Norman worked in the shop. In fact, he was taken to the hospital directly from a shift. He worked six days a week, continuing the family tradition.

"He never made a living from being a blacksmith," Elaine said. "He never made a living from selling hardware either. He was always cheaper than the competitor."

Norman carried a wide range of hardware to repair almost any machine, from a manpowered plow to truck beds.

Where the shelves end, toward the front door, a dusty wooden desk sits in the corner. In one of its drawers is Norman's record books with every brand he ever made with the name of its owner.

Although they have been approached by a variety of companies, Jean and Elaine are holding out on selling the property, and hope one day it may be restored and made into a pocket park or museum.