Our History

On a cold February morning in 1972, a young, 23 year old Jere Dunkelberger opened the door to his small, one room, rented storefront on 6th street in downtown Stroudsburg. It was his first day in business and the beginning of a 40 year success story. However, it was all not without risk. The day before opening he left his job with the state as a surveyor. A well paying job with a guaranteed weekly pay check.

A few weeks earlier he had secured a $16,500 loan with the help of his parents to buy the business and inventory from the owner; then Bill Pipher, who was ready to retire at that time. He had no formal written business plan. He had no previous retail experience. He had no employees to help. He had a 6 month old daughter at home and a new business loan to pay. At the end of that first day in business, he had just $4.73 in the cash register. That night at home, he looked at himself in the mirror and wondered if he was seeing a fool. Yet, Jere believed and knew what he was doing was the right thing.

Born and raised in the Poconos, he knew the people and knew what the land had to offer. A wealth of sporting opportunities; including hunting, fishing, boating, hiking and camping all within an easy drive from his store. Beautiful mountains and valleys, pristine streams and brooks, country roads and farmer’s fields, scenic vistas and landscapes, the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers were all right here in the Poconos.

Couple these amenities with a burgeoning population of baby boomers, now coming of age as consumers, and it all just seemed right. An avid sportsman himself, Jere knew his products well. Always offering his customers advice when asked; and knowing enough not to, when not asked. He continually upheld the highest level of customer service, and was always willing to chat with a fellow sportsman about the big buck they both knew was hiding out in the Cranberry, or a monster bass lurking in the depths of Hidden Lake. It did not take long for the business to catch on and grow. In 1979, suffering from growing pains, Jere seized an opportunity to rent a much larger store directly across the street in the old Sears Farm Store, which was then owned by the Wyckoff family. Jere knew the family well and struck a good deal for the 1000 square foot retail space where he could offer a much larger variety of goods.

The move was a simple matter for marketing and advertising. Anyone who knew the old location on 6th street only had to look across the street to find the new store. Business continued to grow rapidly with the larger space, and in spring of 1981, Jere found out the old Teddy Bear store on Main Street (then the Loose Goose) was going to be available. Again, he seized an opportunity to move into more than 7000 square feet of retail space.

In 1994, fire devastated the adjoining building and caused smoke damage to his goods. The tenant of that building decided to move out and he was able to acquire that adjoining retail space by knocking a hole through the brick wall and making a passageway to the main store. Later he was able to acquire the space occupied by the next adjoining store, and again made a passageway by knocking another hole through the wall.

Jere got pretty good at knocking holes through walls! With these acquisitions, Jere now had over 16,000 square feet of retail space and was one of the largest businesses on Main Street. He soon added an Archery Range on the second floor and administrative offices. Dunkelberger’s for Women occupied one of the new storefronts and was quickly followed by Dunkelberger’s for Men in the other storefront. Kayaks & Canoes hang from the ceiling beams in the main store, tents  are pitched for display, racks of hunting rifles line the wall, shelves are jammed packed full  gear for all sportsmen.  

All of the employees are knowledgeable about the products they sell and serve customers with old fashioned courtesy and professionalism. Jere’s daughter, Tricia, (the 6 month old daughter in 1972), now runs the Women’s Store and knows all other facets of the business. It has all come together! Now, when Jere now looks into the mirror at night, he smiles! And, if you asked Jere if he found some good luck along the way, he would simply reply: “Yes, I suppose I did, but I also found that hard work brings good luck.”