We will be washing one worry out of your life!

A Neighborhood Institution

The year was 1950. Mary Emma Rigdon was working as a bookkeeper and having always been her own boss, she wanted to make a change. With only one “washeteria” in town she felt there was need for another and this would be a business she could manage. She soon found the location, 310 West 12th Street, where it remains till this day. Rigdon’s Laundry Service had begun. Her son Ralph, an electrician by trade, became her partner and managed the installation.

The first concept was for customers to drop off their laundry where it was weighed, washed, dried and folded to be picked up later. This service was charged by the pound. Since many homes did not have washers and dryers this service proved to be very popular. The business grew as customers began asking for hand-ironing service. This was provided for a while until the demand for the service became too much for the facility and it was gradually phased out.

In the early 1960’s installation of coin-operated machines allowed the laundry to remain open longer hours for the convenience of college students, factory and farm workers. When Mary Emma passed away unexpectedly in 1972, Ralph, thinking he would “need something to do when he retired “, took over full operations of the business. An attendant was hired to make change and assist customers. When he retired he continued to operate the laundry and service the machines until, at the age of 97, he sold the business.

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