Their two children had pursued careers in other areas and the hard-working couple knew they would be the last in the family to run the store.
But when Jim Slanker died at age 60 in October, the difficult decisions fell on his widow much sooner than planned.
“When Jim passed away a big piece of the puzzle was missing,” said Jane Slanker. “I could not manage it as well as we did as a team.”
After much discussion with the family, she decided to liquidate the furniture business that has been family-owned and operated since 1888.
“I decided it would be best to go ahead and end this era with integrity and dignity,” she said.
She said she is confident that she would have her late husband’s support in her tough decision.
The store was established on the busiest corner of New Carlisle by cabinetmaker Jacob Trostel. Trostel eventually owned the furniture store and a funeral home.
As Slanker explains it, the pairing of the two family businesses was logical. The cabinet-making skills were also needed for making coffins, and the teams of horses and flatbed wagons were required for both businesses.
Jacob Trostel’s son, George Trostel, continued the business and passed it on to his son, Garrett Trostel. In 1910 Garrett Trostel rebuilt the current store at the corner of Main and Jefferson after a fire. The large display windows in the heart of the city would become a New Carlisle landmark.
In 1960 Trostel split the businesses between his son and daughter. His son Bill Trostel and wife Ruth took the funeral home and Garrett Trostel’s daughter Marge and her husband, Don Slanker, took over the furniture store.
In 1971, their son Jim Slanker started at the store. He married in 1975 and his wife, Jane, officially joined the business in 1979. The couple have two adult children who have both pursued careers in other areas.
Trostel’s Funeral Home is now known as Trostel, Chapman, Dunbar and Fraley Funeral Home. It is a separate business and is unaffected by the closing of the furniture store.
When Trostel’s Home Furnishings closes it will be missed by the community.
New Carlisle Mayor Richard Zsambok said Trostel’s furniture will be remembered in the community through all the organizations, churches and clubs that the business helped and sponsored over the decades.
“We tried to support as many as we could,” said Slanker. She also remembered how their business supplied extra boxes for moving, play houses and even to house new puppies.
It is still unknown what will happen after the business is liquidated and the doors are locked one last time. Trostel’s rented the building and the owners have made no decisions as to the building’s future, according to Slanker.
The mayor is hoping to see another business at that corner soon. “It will be a tremendous loss to the city. If it is not replaced by anything at all, it’ll be a bigger loss.”
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