Plenty! When Don Connell started selling used furniture in downtown Mount Vernon in 1957, he was a full-time fireman and part-time janitor just trying to make ends meet for his family. His only prior experience was an after-school job at Eckenrode’s Furniture during high school.

Don’s father, Harvey Connell, manned the store, called City Furniture, while Don worked 24-hour shifts at the fire station or cleaned their local church on weekends. Don’s wife, Helen, soon brought her intuitive sense of interior decorating and flair for fashion to the company!

Having moved into the now-closed Eckenrode’s location, Don and Helen were ready to begin selling new furnishings and enter the business full time in 1970. As a sophomore, Ed Connell remembers the day his parents sat the family down and explained that things were about to change. “We were prepared to scrimp and save to make it happen, but we didn’t have much anyway!” Ed recalls.

Helen’s rare talent for design and Don’s passion for quality resulted in amazing growth for the company, now called “Connell’s Furniture.” Their sales doubled every year as customers invited Helen into their homes for personal decorating advice, and the Connell’s touch quickly became the must-have mod in Mount Vernon! read more