Before we could know everything instantly all the time everywhere, there were other ways to communicate. Letters. The phone. Eavesdropping. The latter is how a friend of the Skaug family, all the way down in Fresno, CA heard that the Armstrong Paint & Glass business in Moses Lake, WA was for sale; a friend just happened to overhear the news at a truck stop off the highway. This was 1952.
Otto Skaug, then father of two boys, Howard and Eric, along with his wife Agnes, made an offer on the business and moved the family north. The deal was made on a napkin. Otto knew nothing about glass. Spoiler alert: it works out.
Worked out so well, in fact, that many years later after working at and learning the family business, Howard and Eric, along with younger brother, David, officially took over in 1975, buying their father out, and began to expand. “At the time, Moses Lake was bustling, growing and so seeing the opportunities for expansion, we bought the old Swanson Motors, which is the building we’re in today,” Eric Skaug said of the building across from where the original Armstrong showroom was on Third Avenue in downtown Moses Lake.
The remodel and grand re-opening under the brother’s ownership took place in March of 1979. Since then, Skaug said, the shop has undergone partial or product-based remodels, like when they moved the paint and glass out of the shop in the late 1980’s, or when they moved cabinets in – along with younger sister Barb – in 2018.
Nothing has compared with the remodel of 2024.
Welcome to the new, improved and fabulous Skaug Bros CarpetOne Floor & Home – everything is new, even the ceiling tile. “This is part of our association with CarpetOne,” Skaug explained, which is a partnership of co-owners. “This is a nationwide initiative to update the selling and shopping experience with new samples, fixtures and décor… based on new trends and technology,” he said, “All in effort to help you [the customer] make informed design decisions.”
Of course, you can expect Skaug Bro’s consistent full service from their trained staff, phenomenal warrantees, guarantees and selection. Time to start designing!
