For 26 years, Gary Schuette has owned and operated Nettle Creek Ace Hardware, an anchor of Hagerstown’s shopping center area along East Main Street. Floodwaters ruined that storied business within hours Aug. 12, leaving its future in limbo.
In addition to the hardware store, water affected the nearby hair salon, food mart, thrift store, car wash and dentist’s office.
“If Hagerstown loses the shopping center for whatever decisions we as business owners make, it’s going to be a detrimental blow to the town,” said Schuette. Other than some specialty shops on Main Street, the hardware and grocer are hubs that actively support school and community activities from sports to Wayne County 4-H.
“I’m still not 100% sure what direction we’re headed,” said Schuette, who at 58, doesn’t know if he wants to start all over again.
The business suffered over $1 million worth of damage as 52 inches of water filled the building. In addition to 17 to 18 inches of floodwater, a nearby bank was totally eroded, leading the stream to the store’s front door.
“The amount of mud that we had inside the building was horrendous,” said Schuette. “It wasn’t just dirt. It was gross floodwaters. And contaminated with sewage, oils, fuels, everything from how many miles north of there.”
Schuette said merchandise kept near the front corner of the store was found in pieces on the levee and backside of their property and on the neighboring grocery store’s lot.
Schuette cites an eroding ditch next to the store for the overflow, something he said he brought to the town council’s attention last spring. After initial uncertainty about responsibility, the town is moving forward with repairs.
That Thursday morning in August, Schuette said his first priority was to secure the building as it was the only thing left. Inventory and equipment were gone.
“We salvaged what we could,” said Schuette, describing trying to clean and save any items from the bottom 4 feet of the store. They spent the first two days removing products, filling 40-yard dumpsters with trash and debris. Fixtures and equipment were removed that Sunday. Clean, operational items were sold in a four-day salvage sale, with several skids of remaining products sent to a liquidator or donation centers.
A remediation company took a week to dry the store out, using 27 dehumidifiers and pumping water out of the structure. Anything left over currently sits in the parking lot, being rechecked to determine if it is usable or sellable.
“At this point, we have a vacant shell of a building,” said Schuette.
Next in the rehabilitation process is installing three new HVAC units that arrived on Sept. 11. And Schuette wants to focus on reopening the laundromat.
“We’ve had to have a new boiler system in there; got it online. And we’re working on equipment now,” said Schuette. He realizes it won’t have all the equipment like before the flood, but an assortment will be operational and functioning.
“We ordered the flooring this morning,” Schuette told WWN on Friday. “It’s going to be a work in progress, but it will be a functioning laundromat for the community.”
As far as assistance, Schuette said various local entities have made gracious donations. He also noted other businesses lending helping hands.
“With manpower, equipment, material, the business community has stepped up. But as far as government or state assistance, none.” Schuette and other store owners met with the U.S. Small Business Administration last week to discuss available resources.
Schuette acknowledges how fortunate Hagerstown was not to experience any severe residential loss, like neighboring Cambridge City. But he is mindful that they have to focus on both aspects because they both take each other to work.
“It’s going to take the entire circle and the entire community to rebuild,” said Schuette.
A version of this article appeared in the September 16 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
