SEBRING – President William McKinley was in office when Leonard Hardware opened in 1899.

The landmark is Sebring Village's oldest business still in operation.

For nearly 50 years, the store at 145 N. 15th St. has been in the trusty hands of the Risbeck-Sanor families. Sue Risbeck Sanor, a stalwart, is its current owner.

If the business is to have a future it likely will need new owners.

Sanor, 67, said she is planning to retire and sell the business and building to someone else. She doesn't know exactly when she'll call it quits, but she hopes it's sooner rather than later.

"I'm very proud of the success that my family has been able to achieve for many years, and the relationships we forged with the community and our customers," Sanor said in a post to Facebook.

In an interview, she added: "I decided life is too short to work until you die. I still plan to be very active in the community with different groups. I'm very active in my church and I'll have more time."

Sanor will remain on the job until the business and building are sold.

The 10,000-square-foot property is currently listed at $175,000 with Cutler Real Estate.

"I'm hoping to retire by the end of the year, but we'll wait and see. I'm going to sell it one way or another," either on the market or by auction, Sanor said.

Longtime employee Shawn Morrow, 56, has been with the store for 41 years. "It's a pretty viable business," he said. "It has been established since they built the town. It's part of the landscape."

Leonard Hardware, a family business, has been around for 123 years with different owners.

The last 48 years have been shepherded by Sanor and the Risbeck family. 

"It's been my whole life," she said.

John Risbeck Sr. bought the store in 1974 and brought his sons Doug and John Jr. into the business. Sanor, who was married to John Jr., also came to work there. "We were 19," she said.

In addition to hardware, the business also offered heating, plumbing and sheet metal services.

"If you could work for a family-owned business and be considered part of the family, you couldn't ask for better (than them)," said Morrow, who was 16 when he was hired in 1981.

By 2006, Risbeck Sr. and his two sons died and the store was left in Sanor's hands. "I was very blessed to have Shawn (to manage the store)," she said on Facebook. "He knows every single item in the store and metal shop, gives advice on any every repair project ... and so much more."

Sanor later married dairy farmer Rick Sanor and they spent 10 years until his death. She has children and grandchildren.

"I've been thinking about retiring for a couple years after losing Rick," Sanor said.

Sanor said she will miss the customers and the conversations she would have with them.

"People will tell you their life's story at the counter and I love that. I love talking to people. I will miss it a lot," she said.

Sanor said she plans to remain active in the community.

For example, she runs the village's Summer Concert Series and has been involved in Sebring Historical Society for years. She also served nearly six years on Sebring Village Council.

"I might want to take a trip," Sanor said. "But there's always something to do here."

Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @bduerREP.