Although he moved to town 46 years ago, Bill Piercy, the proprietor of Shepherdstown Paint & Art, jokes that he is still a newcomer. “I was one of the first flatlander tourists to come here in 1961,” said Bill. “Shepherdstown seemed like a nice little town, a good place to raise our children, Elizabeth and William. I’m on my fourth landlord now.”
There is no pretense to be found at Shepherdstown Paint and Art, no ostentatious decorations, no computers, and the rotary dial phone was retired just recently. The red front door has a beautiful verdigris brass door handle, slightly askew and burnished bright by countless thumbs and palms.
Bill yields the distinction of having the longest running business in Shepherdstown to Bill Knode, who owns Southern States. “There are four of us who are still here from those days. Greg Didden, Bill Knode, Shepherdstown Lumber, and me. There used to be a lot of vacant stores. We had six filling stations and three grocery stores, and the post office used to be on German Street where the bakery is now. Shepherd had only 900 students in 1961. Now Shepherdstown is just an extension of Harpers Ferry, with all the curio shops we have.”
Bill Piercy is 80 years old, and these days he comes to the shop three days a week, smokes his sweet smelling pipe and receives visitors. His eyes smile when he talks. “I don’t see or hear as well as I used to,” he says. “Roxanne is my pathfinder. She’s my eyes and ears now.” Roxanne Shields has been working at the shop since 2004. Her predecessor, artist Robin Young, had worked at the shop for years, and recruited Roxanne to take her place.
Roxanne taught art for years and worked as a graphic designer in Washington, D.C., until she decided to stop commuting a few years ago. She is a watercolorist, specializing in flower paintings and country themes, as well as Shepherdstown landmarks. She sells her work at the store and through her website (see address below). She works part-time, taking care of framing orders and the day-to-day details of the business. “Bill wanted to keep the shop running, so he taught me how to frame. He is an excellent teacher,” she said.
Roxanne picks Bill up and brings him to work, where he receives visitors, chats with customers, and watches Roxanne “butterfly around” while she works. Business is brisk during the holidays and at graduation. “In December, I feel like a little elf in there, making people’s presents for Christmas,” Roxanne said.
Bill describes himself as a sign-writer by trade. Raised in Haymarket, Va., he learned lettering during World War II and apprenticed at a sign company. By 1953 he was on his own in Fairfax, Va. After moving to Shepherdstown, he worked for a drugstore for a few years, and then for the Hagerstown Sign Company until 1974, when he started Shepherdstown Paint & Art. “I wanted to have an affordable frame shop,” he said. “I also sold paint and wallpaper, but I got out of that after five years.” At the time, his was the only framing shop in the area, and people would come from Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg and beyond.
Bill fashioned the beautiful gold leaf lettering on the window that states his business: Custom Framing, Art Supplies, Signs. Many of the signs around town came from Bill’s shop, including the Entler Hotel and the War Memorial Building. Bill also designed Shepherdstown’s official logo, which features the waterwheel from the Thomas Shepherd Grist Mill, the Rumsey Monument, and McMurran Hall.
The shop carries the imprint of years of industry but little superfluous cleaning. The windows are murky, and the ancient Benjamin Moore sign is almost completely obscured. “People come in here and want to clean the place up,” said Roxanne. The blistered stamped tin ceiling, the walls and the faded posters on them carry a pale ochre patina of dust and tobacco smoke. In the workroom, an industrial paint can shaker, encrusted with paint and dust, sits on the floor. Paint spatters run up the walls halfway to the ceiling. “I am a rat-packer,” Bill says, when asked about the Hallicrafter short wave radio on the shelf.
Behind the checkout counter hundreds of pennies, dimes, and quarters are taped to the wall, along with some dollar bills. There’s even a five. “It’s my coin collection,” Bill said, describing how he saved every odd coin that slipped from customers’ pockets or purses over the years. “It’s good luck to keep found money,” he added.
The store’s wares are displayed neatly, minus any flashy merchandising. Graphic artists will find all their basic needs here: stacks of drawing paper, pads, paint brushes and specialized tools in colorful cans, various boxes of pens, pencils, and paraphernalia for drawing and painting and printing.
Bill has a gentlemanly air about him, a natural graciousness, a gentle rascally humor made all the more charming by his Virginia accent.
 “I’ve framed a lot of interesting art over the years. Some of it … (he grins, and makes a mildly disparaging remark) … don’t print that! There have been a lot of wonderful local artists—Dennis Clark, Marion Buckner, Peg McNaughton—and even people from Washington, D.C., brought things in to have framed,” he recalled. “One lady even came up from Washington, and she told me, ‘I just love these little hole-in-the-wall stores.’” He chuckles at the lady’s delusions.
At heart, Bill thrives on socializing. “I love people and enjoy selling to kids. We tried to keep the store family-like, like a Mom and Pop store atmosphere. People like to come by to chat.” Many of his peers have “gone by the wayside,” but old friends and more recent acquaintances continue to visit. “We get a lot of students who graduated coming back to visit. I had one fellow stop by recently who I hadn’t seen in 15 years.”
“My sister-in-law Fanny Thornton worked with me. She died two years ago. Everyone knew her as Fanny, and everybody loved to come to talk with her. She was popular with the college kids and used to be counsel for them. We’d make them late for class all the time. One of the professors told them not to get into a conversation with us when they came to the store. We don’t get as much college business anymore. We still get kids coming in, but not as much. We can’t compete with the chain bookstores and craft stores. The framing business is what keeps the store going.”
You can visit Bill at Shepherdstown Paint & Art, 108 East German Street; 876 6053. You can also see Roxanne Shields’ artwork there, and at www.uscountrywildflowers.com.