Duckloe Article in Pocono Record

The famed furniture maker graduated from Jenkintown High School in 1938 and headed north, ending up in a quaint town along the Delaware River about eight miles south of Stroudsburg.

"We're not too sure why. Either he ran out of gas, his car broke down he had a girlfriend here or he found a place to open a business," said son Frederick B. Duckloe.

Anthony Piccerillo uses a spray gun to stain a Windsor chair at Duckloe Bros in Portland.

KEITH R. STEVENSON
Pocono Record

Duckloe became a TV show host Wednesday, opening the Frederick Duckloe & Brothers warehouse and factory to Pennsylvania Cable Network for a segment of "PCN Tours." The show is one of the most popular offerings of Pennsylvania's non-profit public affairs network.

Viewers can take an armchair tour of the Duckloe factory, where elegant furniture is crafted by hand, at 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 12.

The factory is open to the public only twice per year - in July and October. Only about 100 people get to take the tour on those rare occasions.

Fred Duckloe contacted PCN after learning about "PCN Tours" from a Duckloe sales associate.

Producer Larry Kaspar saw the business as a prime candidate for the show, which spot-lights manufacturers across the state.

"I was impressed right away. Usually the best ideas are the products that consumers can relate to. People like to see the construction of familiar items' said Kaspar.

PCN videographer Corey Clark spent several hours at the Duckloe plant documenting the furniture-making process from hundreds of dowels stacked in the warehouse to workers wiping stain on chairs in the finishing room.

Fred Duckloe told the story of the family business, which he now owns with his sister, Barbara Duckloe Townsend.

His great-grandfather started it all by making wagons, wagon wheels and furniture outside Philadelphia in the 1850s.

Frederick Duckloe Sr. learned the trade from his father and opened up shop in Portland, making drafting tables for the Navy at the start of World War II. He was drafted in 1942 and served in Europe, but returned to Portland and built a unique business that specializes in Windsor chairs and reproductions of other classic designs.

George Setsodi, who has been with Duckloe Furniture for more than 24 years, cuts out the seat of a Windsor chair with a band saw in the company's Portland factory.

KEITH R. STEVENSON
Pocono Record

Windsor chairs, popularized in England in the 1600s, feature either a sweeping curved-back or a decorative "comb" back with a rail.

Duckloe recently made 300 of the chairs for New York City's historic Fraunces Tavern where George Washington gave a farewell address to his officers. Also, Duckloe has been commissioned to make reproductions for the Smithsonian Institute.

High-quality wood for Duckloe furniture comes from through-out Pennsylvania. Special bentwood sections are made by a Mennonite family in Lancaster County.

Duckloe employs 28 people and sells about 3,000 pieces of furniture each year - including a unique five-legged table with a star-shaped top and a simple "Nancy" bench named after a Duckloe saleswoman.

The PCN tour will give viewers a glimpse of screeching saws and whirring sanders on the factory floor where Duckloe workers wear clear plastic safety glasses as they craft each heirloom item.

Fred Duckloe and his wife have 11-year-old twins. Duckloe hopes they might follow him into the family business someday, but his son wants a job testing video-games.

More information about Frederick Duckloe & Brothers is available at www.duckloe.com on the Internet. The company's showroom in Portland is open 9a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.