Extended hospital stays can be as painful as the malady that necessitated the medical care. For Arthur “Art” Rauch, the original owner of Rauchs Jewelry, an aptitude test given to him during a year-long hospital stay (because of his injuries in the Korean War) passed some of that healing time from shrapnel wounds. The aptitude test indicated an ability and interest in mechanical work which lead to horology.
A Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient, Art’s first post-war challenge was to complete his horology degree at Bradley University. During his years at the university, Art wrote letters to Barbara (a friend’s sister) back home. The two married in 1955. After spending four years repairing watches on the Patrick Air Force Base in Brevard County, Florida, Art and Barbara returned to Newton, Illinois, and soon purchased a jewelry store.
Even in a small town of roughly 3,000 people, location still matters. The Rauch family store has been located on the southwest corner of the square for 60-plus years. That space had been a jewelry store for decades before it became Rauchs Jewelry. According to June Rauch, second generation family jeweler and current owner, the original structure was built in 1912.
In 1922, Hathaway P. Lollar opened a jewelry and watch business. Before opening his doors, he tore down the original building, purchased a large bank vault and then built around it to frame up his jewelry store.
“Bricks weren’t readily available during the war [World War II] so glass blocks were used,” says June. “My father used to tell the story of Mr. Lollar driving his car to Indiana to purchase the glass blocks. Several trips were needed. And, this building still stands here today.”
Art and Barbara were intent on having a big family. Three of their eight kids were born during the couple’s four-year stint in Florida, and the other five kids were born in Newton. (Barbara was pregnant with their fourth child when they purchased and opened the store.) Leveraging Art’s watchmaking and repair skills was a good career path that would sustain a large family in the Midwest.
The logical first step as new jewelry store owners was to continue offering the products and services of the previous owner. “This included fitting of hearing aids and eyeglasses, sold musical instruments, supplies, and of course watch and clock repairs,” says June. “Mom was the buyer for the fine jewelry, watches and everything else. She also managed the books and did sales.”
But Barbara’s most important job was being a mother. Her kids grew up in the store and eventually performed essential tasks. As the Rauch children grew so did the Rauch family store. The inherited ways of doing business gave way to the products and services of today’s modern jewelry store. Eventually the couple traveled to important industry buying events and took on vendors with a trusted history – most of which are still used today, Stuller, Berco, Concepts and Black Hills Gold, according to June.
Born on December 4, 1968, June felt like she was raised in the back of the family store – much like her siblings. The youngest of eight kids, over the years she watched and learned the daily operations of the store. When June came of age as a young girl, she didn’t like school much. “I can remember being sad at school because I wasn’t at the store,” says June.
As a teenager June secured a job at a local lumber yard to gain experience working for another business. But she always worked in the store when she could. As Art and Barbara aged they enjoyed winters in Texas. That gave June the opportunity to manage the store for a few months out of the year starting in the early 1990s.
June moved away from Newton for her husband’s job. Eight years later she moved back. June expressed interest in working in the store – perhaps even taking it over some day in the future. June also worked in town as a licensed realtor, but her heart and her loyalties were always with the family store.
In 2015, Barbara passed away. “At that time my father came to me and said he couldn’t go back to work without my mother,” says June. “After 57 years, my father retired. And, with the help of my siblings, we purchased the family store.”
Similar to June, her siblings were raised and grew up in the store, performed various tasks, and were a constant buzz of activity as children. As adults, however, June was the only child to express interest in making retail jewelry a career. Just because her siblings chose other paths in life didn’t mean they stopped supporting June’s efforts to keep Rauchs Jewelry a Newton tradition.
In addition to the initial family support, June’s brothers Alan and Bruce are contractors. Their experience in building homes certainly came in handy when renovations to the store were needed, such as a rewiring of the entire building, HVAC work, new lighting and mortar work.
The store has gone through a number of renovations over the years, but June couldn’t part with the old radio from the 1930s, an old phone and small metal fan to name a few. She also kept her parent’s second cash register and of course the old bow-making machine. “We still use it today,” says June.
Rauchs Jewelry will be celebrating their 65th anniversary in July. June continues her parent’s tradition of personalized service and a wide range of quality products. But more important was their pride in being the primary jeweler in a small town. That remains with Gen 2.0.
For June and her family, gaining accreditation at the Gemological Institute of America, (GIA) and attending the New Approach Jewelers School in Nashville, has expanded the formal education needed to meet today’s customer expectations.
In recent years June has revamped and updated how bridal jewelry is sold in their store and is also offering custom CAD designs. Updates to the store’s online and social media platforms have also been major technological changes to a store steeped in small town tradition.
“I also added a gift store in the back, which was rented out as a beauty shop, a doctor’s office and a tanning salon, while my parents ran the store,” says June.
Milestone anniversary celebrations are still in the works, but June is confident a local ice cream maker and operator of a popular food truck in town will be involved.
June is deeply saddened that her father died last August. The summer celebrations won’t be the same without him. But she takes great comfort in working with her son Jake and family members who have returned to the store, in-laws, as well as her niece Maddy who is continuing her studies at GIA while earning her business degree. This gives June hope for Gen 3.0.
“Several of my sisters, brothers and nieces have attended jewelry shows and maintained interest in the business,” says June. “They enjoyed helping to pick merchandise. Yes, we are very much hoping for a Gen 3.0 at Rauchs Jewelry.”
