Lehman Painting marking 100 years of family leadership
The Lehman Painting crew, including Stewart Lehman, left, and Aaron Lehman, pose for a picture. Aaron Lehman is stepping into the captain's seat of the business, taking over for his father, Stewart, who is headed toward retirement. The family business turns 100 this year.
Stewart Lehman was approaching retirement age and knew he was ready to slow things down. Not quite just yet, but maybe step aside. Aaron Lehman was ready to step up and step in.
As Lehman Painting turns 100 years old, Aaron Lehman will be taking it into its second century. How far that goes remains to be seen, but for the time being, it will still be very much a family affair.
“It’s been a pretty big swing,” the younger Lehman, 42, said. “It’s definitely a lot different, having all the paperwork, payroll and estimates and billing. That was a bit of a learning curve for me to step into that part of it, but I’m picking it up pretty quickly. The first month or two was a little rocky, but dad was still working and helped me transition into it.”
The pair was in the midst of a project outside of Rittman and took some time to reflect on the business as well as look ahead a bit. Aaron Lehman said taking over the family business was a bit of a priority for him, and doing it as it passed the century mark only added to that.
“It’s a little bit of both,” he said. “Unfortunately, it might die with me, though. My kids don’t have any interest in painting.”
Aaron Lehman’s children – Jasmine, 19, and Kira, 17 – are pursuing cosmetology and nursing, respectively. There are brothers and nephews who could possibly step in, but there’s plenty of time to figure that out.
Aaron sees himself staying in the game until retirement age, which gives him roughly a quarter-century to keep at it. That’s health permitting, of course; construction gigs can get a little rough.
One thing he shouldn’t run out of is work. Houses and businesses always need paint.
“Unless they invent some new walls, I think I’m in business for a while,” he said.
As for Stewart, he’s able to slow down a bit but still enjoy the work. Over his three-plus decades at the helm, he’s seen the business evolve plenty.
He remembers his own father, who took the reins in the middle of the last century, telling him of painting with 6-inch brushes, using mostly oil paints, often lead-based, which were still in play when Stewart started. Now his crew works with water-based paints, using 18-inch rollers that can cover entire walls in a few swipes.
“We had homemade set-ups,” he said. “They’d put us in a box and lift us up in a crane. We didn’t have the power tools that we have today.”
Everything has made it easier, but the key is still in the preparation, and not too much has changed there. The buildings, especially the houses, have changed in all sorts of ways. Not always for the better, either.
“It used to be every house was unique,” Stewart said. “If you go into the older neighborhoods, nothing was cookie-cutter. Now it’s all mass-produced. You have six different floor plans, and that’s it. I’ve gotten into some higher-end custom-built places. There are still some quirky things. You have the bay window areas and towers. People who have the money like all that and want all that kind of stuff.”
Things like the evolution of windows, going from wood to vinyl, with the frames now inside the panes, have made things a bit easier. Other modern adaptations, such as pre-stained cabinets, have lessened the painters’ jobs.
“Basically, we’re just doing ceilings and walls now,” Stewart said. “Before, my dad would say painting was 10 to 12 percent of the price of the house. Now it’s maybe 3 to 5 percent.”
Every once in a while, the Lehmans and their crew come across a special job, one high-profile enough that they can continue enjoying long after it’s done.
An example of that is the Broehl Law Office building on North Market Street in Wooster. The 160-year-old building got a fresh coat in recent years, courtesy of Lehman painting.
“We did the outside of that thing,” Stewart Lehman said. “It was in bad shape. You drive up to that building now and it’s a sight to see. It really looks sharp. It was a tough job to do, but just the improvement we made on that, that’s something so unique. It’s different, one of a kind.”
Stewart has, and will always, enjoy the one constant about the job: people. He enjoys dealing with the customers, talking about their jobs at hand, their tastes and preferences and putting his own touches on their lives.
Once a job is over, a painter has the luxury of, for a minute or two at least, admiring his work and feeling good about making a difference in a customer’s everyday life.
“I’m a people person,” Stewart Lehman said. “I like talking to them. I like the variety. I couldn’t go work in a factory and do the same thing in the same spot. People say, ‘Well, you’re painting every day.’ But I’m painting different stuff. You do get some variety.
“And when you’re done, you get a little satisfaction that you made something better or at least made it look better.”