Every now and then, Mike Cooper will catch himself as he drives through town, making note of the houses he passes.
Yep, he’ll recall. His carpet is in that one. That one, too. Those down the street.
“In 50 years, I’ve carpeted most of the houses in Iola at some time or another,” he notes, without a hint of braggadocio. “Maybe not for the present owners, but maybe one or two owners ago.”
On Saturday, Cooper celebrated his 50th anniversary with Mike’s Carpet World, which is still running strong six days a week.
“I was 26 when I opened up, I’ve been in business 50 years, and now I’m 39,” he laughed. “I do math for a living. Not long ago, my daughter got me a shirt I still keep, that says ‘four of three people struggle with math.’”
Cooper spoke about his store’s origins, how styles have changed in half a century, and why he’s in no hurry to retire. “What else am I gonna do?” he asks.
COOPER — who is actually 76 — was born and raised in Chanute, and returned from college in need of a job.
He found one selling carpet wholesale throughout the Four States for an area distributor.
After about a year, Cooper grew tired of the travel, and looked to find a spot to sell carpet at a single location.
He helped another store owner get a carpet store established. Then a second.
After that, Cooper wanted to get one going for himself.
He found a perfect building on the outskirts of Iola, at what was then 617 West St.
It was situated directly across from the Iola Cemetery, next to the old Frank’s Harley Davidson store and a car wash.
On top of hosting customers, Cooper recalled another pastime: watching motorists stop at the cemetery and pose by a “dead end” sign that marked the graveyard’s entrance. (Editor’s note: the sign is still there.)
Cooper had a 20-year mortgage on the building. He paid it off in 18 ½, but his time on the west edge of town didn’t last much longer.
