IN 1934, the air in Earl C. Kincaid’s radio repair shop at his New Herman home vibrated with the warm hum of radios, each a portal to distant voices and captivating stories. Years later, Earl moved his family and the shop to town, and Kincaid’s Radio Repair subsequently moved near the bustling Shelbyville square. Between the feed store’s clatter and the ice plant’s cool hum, a different kind of melody filled the air. It emanated from a modest shop on Deery Street, where Earl, a man with a love for tinkering, worked alongside his son, Calvin.
As a young boy, Calvin’s son, Mark, wandered the shop, mesmerized by the glowing tubes and the intricate dance of wires. In this sensory playground, the seeds of a family legacy were sown — a legacy that would grow into a cornerstone of the community, Kincaid Service Company.
In its 90th year, the little shop is now a showroom and service company on Madison Street. Gone are the days of dusty radios, replaced by gleaming appliances, modern furniture, and the latest electronics. Yet, the essence of the Kincaid family remains.
Mark is now the owner, working alongside his wife, Eve, and their son, Christian, serving the community and the generations of customers who’ve become like family. The scent of new leather and the whir of refrigerators have replaced the warm glow of tubes. Still, the core values — honesty, service, and community — continue to resonate, undergirding the enduring legacy of the Kincaid family.
Earl added the sale of radios to his repair business, then televisions and other electronics. When freezers were a relatively new and hot product, it was the first on the showroom floor, followed by refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, and all of today’s standard home appliances. When business became less intuitive, and it became more challenging to stay ahead of the rapidly changing advances, Calvin took the lead from his father.
Mark said, “He did the same thing I have. When things get busy, you can’t keep up with every little change the same way, so it’s time to either hand it off to someone younger or not do it anymore. My dad did the more technological things, like stereo systems, and then I did those things. Now my son handles the electronic side, so that’s just a natural progression — always hand it off to somebody with less calendar pages torn off than you.”
While things have changed over the past nine decades, some have stayed the same.
“Customers don’t really change. A basic customer’s needs and what they need from us — that really doesn’t change,” Mark said. “The most important thing to us is always to treat people how we would want to be treated. If I need help, then I would hope someone would help me. And people come to us for the same reason. They need help, and they expect us to help them,” he said.
Kincaid Service Company is “family helping family.”
Mark said, “This is the fourth generation of my family, but the people who work with us here become much more than people who work together. We become more family than anything else. Our clientele is generational, too. We have the grandfather. And then the son and his wife come in and buy things from us. And then their children come in and buy things from us. We have family on both sides of the counter. We have our work family here where we get pretty darn close. Then, we have a much higher level of relationship with our customers. And I’d hope someone reading this would agree with that.”
It’s a relationship reflected in the company’s lasting presence in the Shelbyville community. With its 100th anniversary only a decade away, looking forward is natural.
“One of the things I’ve always wanted to see was this store make it 100 years. And there have been tough times — times [when] I don’t know if we’ll make it another year. It’s a roller coaster ride, but that’s always been one of my goals — to see the store through 100 years,” said Mark.
While trends and products will inevitably change, Mark said the family has changed more in the last three years than the previous 10. The Kincaid family is steadfast in their dedication to their customers.
“I hope we will be even more successful in taking care of everybody and doing more for our community,” he said. “Products change, trends change, but I don’t see us changing how we treat or take care of people.”
Sleek smart TVs have replaced tube radios, but the core values remain constant, humming like a warm current beneath the surface. Mark, like his grandfather and father before him, carries the torch of this legacy. As he looks towards the 100th anniversary of the business, a new generation of Kincaids waits in the wings, ready to ensure that the melody of trust, honesty, and community continues to resonate for generations to come. GN
