In 1912, brothers Frank and Edward Horn started a laundry service in Athens that grew into a full-service gas station, repair center and oil company.

A hundred years, three expanded locations and several generations later, Edward's great-granddaughter, Karen Duggan, and her husband Bernie continue to run the business, known today as Horn's True Value.

Store staff, members of the Horn family, fellow businesspeople and local dignitaries celebrated the milestone Friday with a cake-cutting ceremony in front of the store.

In addition to four cakes, each decorated with a picture of the store's locations over the last 100 years, the store also displayed a cake made of concrete and decorated with chains, hardware and other items. As the family cut the cakes, employees released white True Value-branded balloons into the sky.

The store also received the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce's Service Excellence Award Friday, and True Value sent down members of its corporate staff with a plaque in recognition of the occasion.

Bill Yetsko, a regional retail consultant with the company, congratulated the store on 100 years of success and wished them 100 more. Horn's "is a great store with nice people," he said.

The ceremony topped off a century of service that began when the Horns started Picture of Perfection Laundry on North Main Street in Athens. The Horns' business evolved into a full-service gas station and vehicle repair center, moving to Sayre's Desmond Street until the late 1960s.

The business became affiliated with the Firestone tire company and moved to Broad Street in Waverly, where it continued to expand. The store became a member of the True Value Hardware cooperative in 1974. A flood spurred the Horns to relocate the business to its current location on North Keystone Avenue in 1994.

Today, the store offers a rental service, an extensive selection of children's toys, a JC Penney Express, UPS shipping, small engine repair and a variety of unique items in addition to hardware. The Duggans also recently appeared in a True Value commercial that aired nationwide.

Amanda Renko can be reached at (570) 888-9652; or email: arenko@thedailyreview.com.