After more than 40 years in business, one Sharon man says it's time to retire.

"I have fears but no illusions of retirement," said Gerald Mitchell, owner of the former Mitch's Coin Laundry in Farrell. "I have to reenergize myself. I want the public to know."

A lifetime Sharon resident, Mitchell, 68, began his business in the tumultuous '60s, when blacks were beginning to assert themselves both in positive and negative ways. In his attempt over the past 40 years to become a black entrepreneur in the Shenango Valley, Mitchell has made many sacrifices to come out on top.

During the '60s when he was operating a cleaning business, he hired a gentleman who owned a laundry in Farrell. The man wanted to sell it for personal reasons, so Mitchell bought it from him in 1964. Mitchell purchased two other laundries during his time as a laundry owner, one in Sharon that opened in 1968 and the other in Hermitage that opened in 1978.

In 1995, Mitchell said the widening of state Route 18 ruined business for him in Hermitage as his laundry got caught in the vortex of the 18-month road project. "That was the cause of my demise," he said.

Among other reasons, Mitchell also blames the closing of his Hermitage and Sharon businesses on rent-to-own type enterprises that offer people the option of renting their own appliances rather than depending on businesses for them.

030509