HODGDON — The final note has been played at Northern Musical Supply as Tim and Dorene Humphrey have decided to close their business after 32 years.
The Humphreys opened their first music shop in the Shiretown back in 1984, when Tim decided to open a guitar shop from their home on what is now Chandler Street. The couple moved to U.S Route 1 in Hodgdon in 1998.
“Due to a lack of traffic in the store, and people shopping online, I had to make the difficult decision to close the store,” he said.
Humphrey said most of the inventory has been sold, but even though his storefront is closed, he is willing to assist people with ordering equipment.
Northern Musical Supply stocked guitars, amplifiers, sound systems, banjos, microphones, harmonicas, drum heads and sticks, tuning equipment, strings, and various other musical accessories. Pianos, keyboards and drum kits were also available through special order.
Humphrey also did repair work on guitars and dabbled with fixing amplifiers. Re-stringing guitars is what kept him the busiest.
Music has been a huge part of Tim’s life, so deciding to close his store was not an easy decision, he said. Humphrey is a self-taught musician who played in local bands during his high school and college days, and continues to do so to this day. He could play every instrument found in his store.
Upon graduation from Ricker College in 1969, he taught physical education in Sherman as that was the only job opening he could find. Humphrey filled that post for about a half a year when an opening came up to teach English at the middle school. He stayed at the post until 1979 when he took a job at Hodgdon High School teaching English until 1989. He then taught at the middle school level from 1989 to his retirement in 2004.
