Chad Lawhorn’s wonderful Journal-World article regarding the long and distinguished history of Francis Sporting Goods was sent to me by my 91-year-old father, who still lives in Lawrence.

I was keenly interested in Lawhorn’s piece, since my first job, as a junior at Lawrence High School, was with Francis Sporting Goods, and Gib Francis, the company patriarch. That was 48 years ago.

The business and life lessons learned while working with Gib and his son, George, for several years on Massachusetts Street have stayed with me all these years. I, too, went into business and have a much less significant run of 25 years, with clients in 50 countries, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif. I learned at their store how to treat customers well and how to respect an honest day’s wage — I think my first week’s check at Francis Sporting Goods almost half a century ago was for $28 — remembered fondly to this day.

The Francis family store, now run by grandson Jon, is a living lesson to be learned by us all. Things change, times change, competition changes and competent management changes along with it. Jon’s difficult decision to focus on their wholesale and group business is a tough decision that even Warren Buffet would appreciate and admire.

Perhaps another heading for Lawhorn’s article could have been “Beginning of a new era” (rather than “End of an era”). I suppose, though, both are equally correct.

Gib was a tough task master who expected his employees to give the customers the best, in product, price and attitude, and who could talk your leg off about his days in baseball and his love for Lawrence sports and their teams. No better ambassador for Lawrence sports ever existed, in my eyes. The Chamber of Commerce should have paid him a residual bonus for that past 67 years.

I am well aware that so many others out here who also gratefully got our first jobs at their store could have written this same letter, only better.

Very few family businesses ever get to survive the long standing history that Francis Sporting Goods achieved: 67 years and running. Count me as one of many who are rooting on future generations of the Lawrence Francis family to continue the rich and wonderful history of their family business begun almost seven decades ago. It’s not the end, now, only a new beginning.