The Owners

John Russell Davolos Harden and Stephanie Davolos Harden are the new owners of Wheeler Brothers General Store at 1 Main St in Hubbardston. They also purchased the Abijah Clark house next door. Their plan is to restore both buildings and reopen the store, eventually developing a retail center around the buildings with the Clark house as an antiques center, as well as providing space for local historic and educational exhibits and workshops.

John has had a lifelong interest in Architecture, studying it as well as drafting extensively in High School, before turning to mechanics, another passion. He has held a variety of jobs, among them auto mechanic, caretaker for an estate in Hamilton MA, musician and sound man, property manager, and senior project manager for an affordable housing developer in Waltham MA. Along the way he earned a Construction Supervisor's License and several of the jobs he's had have allowed him to expand and develop his knowledge and skills in repairing and restoring old houses, which has become his passion. His first project was an 1830's house in Salem, MA, the town where he grew up, and he and Stephanie live in an 1880's Italianate two-family in Lowell, MA that they bought as an 'investment' before they were married, and renovated over two years (it's never really 'done' of course!). John painstakingly restored the original plaster walls (and learned a new skill in the process!), reconstructed wainscotting, and transformed the first floor apartment from an unoccupied, unliveable 'disaster area' into a stunning, airy apartment. This will be the biggest project he has tackled, but is up to the challenge!

Born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Stephanie discovered a love for teaching during her junior year in college, but could not change her major (French). So she joined Teach for America, which had just started as a national organization, placing recent college graduates into areas experiencing dramatic teacher shortages. Stephanie wound up in Cut Off (really!), Louisiana (Cajun country!) where she lived with a local family and taught French to fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. She learned Cajun French in the process, and invited local artisans and others to relate the history and culture of South Louisiana to her students. Eventually she became the Regional Director for Teach for America in South Louisiana, raising money and supporting over 150 teachers in small rural communities across the state. After moving to Massachusetts, Stephanie helped launch Citizen Schools, a non-profit educational enterprise providing after-school apprenticeship-based learning to 9-to-14 year olds in Boston. Stephanie is now Director of Apprenticeships for Citizen Schools and has been instrumental in recruiting and training over 2,500 volunteer teachers. What started as five people running programs in three schools has become a national model, operating in 12 schools in Boston, creating partnerships with school systems in other states, and employing over 70 people. All this in 6 years!

John and Stephanie met at a wedding in December of 1995. Stephanie had come up from Louisiana to attend the wedding of her cousin, who happened to be a childhood friend of John's. The groom's brother introduced them that night, and the rest is history! A long-distance courtship followed that introduction, which culminated with Stephanie packing up her little blue car and driving to Massachusetts to stay with the caretaker in Hamilton! Eventually Stephanie moved to Somerville, and John to Lowell, each taking turns commuting for dates. When the house they bought together in Lowell was in the middle of renovations, John proposed and Stephanie moved in! They were married on September 5, 1998 in Rock Hall, Maryland, where Stephanie's parents live. They are the happy parents of Eleanor who was born in September 2003.