The tradition of continuing a business started by your ancestors might be considered somewhat normal, but when a particular business celebrates its 100th anniversary, that’s special.

It’s what Marty Cichowic Jr. is feeling these days in the borough of McAdoo, where the company he and his wife, Lori, own and operate, Ace Rug Works, is celebrating its centennial anniversary.

“I’m proud to be part of this history and I’m only hopeful the previous generations are looking down at us with pride as well,” Marty said.

Cichowic and his family continue the art his grandfather Peter began way back in the 1900s, producing durable throw rugs on looms he crafted in his small shop in the Schuylkill County community.

Marty said, “The fact that we’re celebrating 100 years is special. When I think about it, an average age of death in 2022 is 79 years, and in the past years it was much less - in 1962 it was about 70 - I can only guess what it was when the business was when it was started in 1921.

“With that in mind, it shows the tenacity of the Cichowic family in continuing what our grandparents started. I would love to hear what they think about 100 years!”

Cichowic is well-known in the area. A 1979 graduate of Marian Catholic High School, he sells the throw rugs in a wholesale manner from the East to West coasts, and points in between, including at a seasonal stand at the ever-popular Hometown Farmers Market, craft shows and at the family’s floral shop in their hometown.

The beginning

Ace Rug Works had its start when Peter Cichowic, then a maintenance employee at the former Duplan Silk Mill, Hazleton, created the looms his grandson still uses today. A self-taught machinist, he was fascinated with machines, Marty said, and developed the looms to use in the carpet-making business.

He recalled how people would bring their scraps of old clothing and sheets to his grandfather and grandmother, Susan, asking Peter to make rugs out of the material. It was the beginning of what is now known as “rag rugs.”

Marty said the rugs became a popular household item, and still are today.

Cichowic grew up working in the shop. His duties included preparing shuttles with long strips of material to run through the loom for a couple of hours a day. When his dad, the late Marty Sr., who died in 2011, continued the business his grandfather started, Marty would spend his off-time and weekends in the shop with his father.

Cichowic said the business saw many changes through the years, including its number of employees, and material they were able to use. Because of regulatory concerns, the family, for instance, was no longer able to accept clothing and material from families. Labor regulations, Marty said, also prompted them to continue their operations on a “family-only basis.”

The shop once employed over 60 people from the northern Schuylkill County area through the 1960s, he said, but those government regulations resulted in the Cichowics going to an “in-house work force” that keeps the business small.

Marty said, “My father always said ‘the bigger you get, the bigger your problems are going to be.’?”

He said the words of wisdom of his late father helped him to learn the hard way what happens when a small business grows and spreads itself too thin.

Marty and Lori also own and manage Floral Creations in McAdoo, a flower shop started by Marty’s mother, Dolores, in 1971. That business is now over 50 years old and spans two generations.

The Cichowics have two adult children, Heather and Marty III. Both helped Ace Rug when they were younger and continue to do so as adults, assisting there on breaks from school or work.

The rugs

The company sells standard rag rugs in a simple stripe, which they believe Peter may have fashioned after an old Mennonite pattern. The rugs are 27 inches wide and come in three lengths - 26-, 54- and 72-inch.

The shop also does a “Hit and Miss” multicolored rag rug made from the odd pieces and colors of fabric that are left over, and a shag rug crafted from heavy-weight, fringed upholstery material. Both are 27 inches by 42 inches in size.

The business, Marty said, has helped keep the family together. “It’s been great to expose the next generation to the business our family has maintained since the 1920s. Will it continue with our children? I can only say, ‘It’s up to them.’ We might have to wait until the 150th anniversary to see what their decision will be.”

As Ace Rug moves from the third to fourth generation for now, “It’s all family,” Marty said. “It’s all about working together as a family.”