The Bennet’s Story

Bennet Geiser was born in January 1912 and the Bennet’s Appliance story actually begins with the history of refrigeration altogether. Frigidaire was born in 1918 when W.C. Durant, president of General Motors Corporation, purchased the Guardian Frigerator Company, developer of the first self-contained electric household refrigerator, and renamed it Frigidaire Corporation.

Frigidaire was the first mass-produced household refrigerator that was both affordable and widely available to the public, thanks to mass assembly efforts borrowed from the auto industry. By 1929, the company had produced its one millionth refrigerator and introduced the first chest-type freezer for home use.

In 1931 Smith Dairy Products Company acquired the franchise to sell Frigidaire refrigerators and freezers from the Ohio Edison Company. Bennet worked for Smith Dairy, owned by his uncles William, John and Amos Schmid. While there, Bennet learned to repair refrigeration systems and performed maintenance service for the milk coolers, ice cream cabinets, dairy cases and refrigerated trucks owned by the dairy and its customers.

Bennet had a goal and desire to offer name brand appliances and excellent service to the people of Wayne County, and so Smith Dairy transferred the Frigidaire franchise to Bennet in 1945. Established as “Bennet Refrigeration and Appliance Company, Inc.,” the store was located in one-half of Smith Dairy’s truck garage in downtown Orrville.

Later on in 1947, to accommodate Bennet’s growing business, a new building on North Vine Street was constructed by William Schmid. The new store was built where the Winkler horse barn and the adjoining Henry Pinkley blacksmith shop were once located, and right next door to the new post office. The appliance store was the first in the area to carry name brand appliances and televisions, such as RCA Victor, Magnavox, Frigidaire, Maytag, Bendix, Ben Hur, Hoover, and International.

In 1961 Bennet’s son-in-law, Wendell Schloneger, joined the business as an electronics technician. Wendell set up an electronics service department and managed the entire service operation of the business.

In 1963, still growing and in need of more space, Bennet’s moved out of downtown, purchased land and constructing a new store next to Buehler’s super market on West High Street. Next door to his appliance store, Bennet also built and managed the area’s first coin-operated laundromat and dry cleaning service. Under the supervision of his wife, Grace, the ‘Quik Clean’ laundromat was a hub of activity in the new shopping center.

Today, under third-generation ownership, Bennet’s Appliance sells major appliances, furniture, mattresses, and consumer electronics products throughout northeastern Ohio. With a history of continuous growth in what is a very competitive business, Bennet’s receives most of its business from repeat and referred customers. Bennet’s has withstood intense competition from large chain stores and survived the test of time by giving personal service, providing award-winning delivery and installations, maintaining competitive prices, and meeting changing customer needs.

As an original member of one of the largest buying groups in the nation, Bennet’s Appliance operates with the buying power of a shared $75 million dollar warehouse of inventory; rivaling all national retailers. That buying power, combined with Bennet’s Appliance devotion to customers, has helped grow the business into the largest store of its kind in the area.