Executive Q&A: Oklahoma City furniture store owner carries on family’s tradition

Paula Burkes

It's an odd juxtaposition. The Amish don't watch television, drink alcohol or use cellphones. But, an Arcola, Ill.-based furniture manufacturer, led by a man who left the faction as an adult, contracts with the Amish to make entertainment consoles, wine cabinets and cedar-lined, back-lit bedside tables with cellphone charging stations.

J. Earle Haggard Jr., owner and president of Haggard's Fine Furniture, recently touted the furniture's workmanship at his store at 3415 N May.

“It's solid wood with dovetail joints and soft-close doors with hidden hinges,” Haggard said.

In response to an increasingly outsourced furniture industry, Haggard more than a decade ago added American-made furniture from several Amish lines in traditional, craftsman and contemporary styles. He also offers an Amish fabric line.

Though Haggard is embracing new fronts for the store's now 100th year, he vows to maintain the quality furniture and good service tradition to which his grandfather and father adhered, he said.

“I want to be like my dad who a few years before he died was still unloading furniture at 87,” said Haggard, 69. From his 14,000-square-foot store, he sat down with The Oklahoman to talk about his life and career. This is an edited transcript:

Q: Tell us about your roots.

A: A native of Edmond, my mother — LaVanche Hunley Haggard — sold furniture like the dickens and was very involved in civic organizations and the First Christian Church of Oklahoma City. She was a descendant of Horace L. Hunley, the engineer and entrepreneur after whom the thrice-sunk and thrice-risen CSS Hunley Confederate submarine, now on display in North Charleston, S.C., was named. I joke that's where our family's “never give up” spirit comes from.

A native of Mount Vernon, Texas, my father grew up in Chicago, where most of his eight siblings worked for the Western Union. Three were pilots, including his kid brother who was shot down and killed during WWII and a sister who ferried planes from the manufacturer to U.S. Air Force bases. After the Great Depression, my father and his siblings moved to Oklahoma City, where my grandfather, J. Earle Haggard Sr., had started Haggard's Furniture in 1916. My father's older half-brother, John A. Haggard, joined him in the business in the early 1930s. Sadly, I never got to meet my grandfather, but my grandmother, uncle and parents (I'm their only child.) shared plenty of stories about him and his work ethic. Grandfather believed in giving more than his competitors, including free delivery via a horse and hack, and later — after the horse died — via a Model T Ford and trailer. During the Depression, he allowed customers a “$1 down and $1-a-week” payment plan.

Q: What were the highlights of your school days?

A: I grew up near 33rd and May (I still live in the area) and attended Sequoyah Elementary School, Taft Middle School and Northwest Classen High School, where I served in the Key Club, Lancer Pep Club, as president; Cry-Slur Choir, and on the judicial board. I was active in Explorer Scouts, earning the Eagle Award with three palms; DeMolay, earning the Chevalier Degree; Northwest Optimist Rifle Team, and Camp Classen YMCA Camp near Davis, where I was a counselor.

Q: When did you start working in your family's furniture business?

A: I worked in the summers during high school and college. As a little kid, I remember taking the bus from 30th and Villa to the YMCA at Fifth and Robinson. I'd swim and play basketball, and then I'd stop in on different pawn shops and Army surplus shops (I loved anything military.) on my way to “help” my dad at our then main, since razed, store at 324 W California. I can't imagine how much help I was, but I'd hang out there and ride home with him. My parents were my heroes. I wanted to work alongside them and learn every aspect of the furniture business to carry on the family tradition.

I remember as a little bitty kid taking the train, with Pullman sleeping and dining cars, to Chicago for a furniture market; to Dallas four times a year; High Point, N.C., and Vegas. Over the years, Haggard's manufactured upholstery and case goods, “jobbing” products under the name “Sell Right.” The Haggard name was associated with wholesale, retail, and new and used furniture — eventually expanding to 10 stores and four warehouses across Oklahoma City, including Britton, South Robinson, Capitol Hill, 50th and Meridian, and 2418 N May. We moved to our present, and now only, location in the late 1960s.

Q: You started college at a military school in Missouri. Why?

A: Kemper Military College in Booneville, Mo., was an honors military school. Will Rogers was a former student of the school, which has since closed. At the time, I was thinking about trying to go to West Point and pursued as many inroads as possible. I'd marched in scouts, and always loved the discipline and regimen of the military. As it turns out, I continued my studies at OU, which I loved, and went to Officers Candidate School through the Oklahoma National Guard/U.S. Army Reserves. I served 30 years, including during the 1973 McAlester prison riot.

Q: What's been the biggest change in the furniture industry since you started?

A: Many established furniture manufacturers now outsource their products to foreign countries, including China and Vietnam. It's become increasingly difficult to maintain high quality and service. We've met these challenges by adding finely-crafted, solid-wood American-made Amish lines of Smith Brothers, Simply Amish and other Amish lines to our existing fine brands. We offer free delivery up to 20 miles, much like my grandfather did in 1916. I invite your readers to visit the Haggard's of today. We're open 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.