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Company History

Stanley N. Howard Sr. Founder circa 1925
First Chicago Builders location at approx 6864 W. North Ave. Chicago circa 1937
Chicago Builders Supply check dated 1937 to P.F Corbin
Second Chicago Builders location at 7214 W. Belmont Ave. Chicago. Jane (McDonald) Howard, mother of Stanley N. Howard (founder), and Genevieve Howard circa 1939
Ground braking for Chicago Builders Supply location. George B. Shaw and Stanley N. Howard circa 1940
Exterior at Chicago Builders at 3701 N. Harlem Ave. Chicago circa 1955
Exterior of Chicago Builders at 3701 N. Harlem Ave. Chicago circa 1955
Stanley Howard Jr. (standing) and Bill Mancuso in office at Chicago Builders at 3701 N. Harlem Ave. Chicago circa 1955
Nail warehouse at Chicago Builders at 3701 N. Harlem Ave. Chicago circa 1955
Stanley N. Howard Sr. on safari in Africa circa 1955
Victor Sorby - father of Betty Howard, mother of Terry Howard, father of Richard Howard - circa 1965
Founder Stanley N. Howard and Genevieve T. Howard circa 1968
Founder Stanley N. Howard Sr. and Genevieve T. Howard on 50'th wedding anniversary circa 1972.
Exterior entrance door to Chicago Builders Supply circa 1980
Chicago Builders supply (later known as Century Door) in Elk Grove Village Illinois, circa 1985
Terry Howard at desk in Chicago Builders Supply circa 1985
Daniel Drazkowski & Terry Howard in lock shop at Chicago Builders at 3701 N. Harlem Ave. Chicago circa 1986
Sign at Chicago Builders Supply location at 6103 W. Montrose Ave circa 1993
Chicago Builders team left to right circa 1993 (Anna Howard, Richard Howard, Kurt Larson, Terry Howard, Daniel Drazkowski)
Employess of Chicago Builders Supply From left to right circa 1994 ( Karen, John Trout, Kurt Larson, Daniel Drazkowski, Michael Howard, Terry Howard, Richard Howard, Brett)
Door storage at Chicago Builders Supply at 6103 W. Montrose Ave. Chicago circa 1997

The following is the Chicago Tribune obituary for Chicago Builders founder Stanley N. Howard

"Stanley N. Howard Sr.
February 04, 1988
Services for Stanley N. Howard Sr., 89, founder and retired president of Chicago Builders Supply Co. Inc., will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday in the chapel at 6938 W. North Ave. Mr. Howard, of the Northwest Side, died Sunday in Illinois Masonic Medical Center. The firm, at 3701 N. Harlem Ave., is a provider of general supplies to builders. It was founded by Mr. Howard in 1937, and it is still family-owned and -operated. Mr. Howard was a founder and member of the Northwest Builders Association. A native of Prince Edward Island, Canada, he had served with the Canadian army in Europe during World War I. Survivors include his wife, Genevieve; two sons, Hubert C. and Stanley N. Jr.; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren."


Description of the history of Chicago Builders Supply Co. Inc. as spoken by Terry Howard, father of ABsupply.net founder Richard Howard.

A short oral history of Stanley N. Howard Sr. buy his grandson Terry Howard after the sale of his WW1 articles:

"Well I can tell you this much, he was one tuff son of a bitch, and at the same very confusing time, a very generous man.. He gave away hundreds of thousand of dollars to hospitals, police, boy scouts, Danny Thomas, The Shriners, and on and on .. He was married for close to 70 years, same woman, his mother was a nurse in Hollywood when they were making silent movies.. He went on three safaris, 2 in Africa, one in India, where he killed at the time the 3rd largest tiger ever recorded.. He was a 33rd degree mason.. How do you sum up a life in a paragraph....? He took a Bayonet through his left forearm... He sold eggs door to door in the depression... His father drowned in the Bay of San Francisco in 1899... His name, Stan to his contemporaries, to me he was Gramps, the Boss, known to many as only "The Old Man". I saw him once toss a salesman's briefcase out into traffic, on a major street in Chicago, a bus smashed it, it was like seeing something in the movies, he was one Son Of a Bitch, and that's a fact... He started our family business back around 1937, It served our family well, my dad came next for a little while, then I took over in the late 80s, I stopped in 2005. Had great success, my son has changed its course, and is doing better than we ever did with Internet sales. In 1941 when Pearl was destroyed, he put on his suit and tried to enlist, too old....Both his sons served, WW II, I did my duty in a little place named Vietnam....SO........... I'm moving, into a new home, boxes of stuff everywhere, but I'll get your medals shipped out real soon. Thanks for the speedy payment, I haven't even looked yet, does it ship over seas??? Please take care of the Medals, they were paid for with real blood......................"
-Terry Howard 01/07/2012

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