There are common threads found in the telling of community stories: family moved to Charleston in the 1920s; a young man having to help support the family; an interest in the newest technology; turning a vocation into a life long career that touched the entire community. Melvin Ortner’s story has all these commonalities and is a vibrant thread in the community fabric. The story is rich, deep, and can be summed up in the words — television and customer service.
Ortner’s story begins in Brunswick, Ga. where he was born in 1927. The family relocated to Charleston. His father died young, which placed the 14-year old Ortner in a position, while continuing with his education, of earning an income to support his family. He turned to what was becoming his passion, electronics.
Ortner approached the owners of Schwartz’s Esso station located on Spring Street for a space where he could repair radios. And in that garage, like so many other entrepreneurs, he honed his skills, developed his talents and went on to become the area’s go to person for radio service. As the industry developed into televisions, Ortner was right there on the cutting edge. First he delivered TVs sold by others, and installed the antennas on the roofs. He boasted that he had probably seen every roof in the area. Next came TV repair and his business had now blossomed into Ortner Radio and TV Service.
In the 1970s, he moved his operation from King Street to South Windermere Shopping Center, in the space that is now occupied by Starbucks. A curious store with the perfect mixture of new TVs for sale, old TVs in various states of repair, a joke and a smile for the customer, and the ability to turn this all into a success. It didn’t take long for the merchants and customers of South Windermere Shopping Center to realize that Ortner kept a TV in the store’s window. It was the place to be if something newsworthy was happening.
You could take a break; maybe get an ice cream, and wander over to the storefront and catch the World Series, or a space launch, or an update on a major political event. Ortner’s recipe of skill and service worked as he was the third largest Sony dealer in South Carolina for many years as well as one of the State’s oldest and largest Zenith dealers. Know your customers and treat them right was a lesson instilled into all of his family. Whether he was selling Susan Ford, the daughter of Gerald Ford, a weather band radio, hiring the boys from St. Andrew’s Parish High School to deliver TVs, installing a roof top antenna, or helping a customer with a technical dilemma over the phone, all were treated “honestly, courteously, and fairly. And with a sense of humor.”
He moved his shop one last time before retirement to Daniel Street in Byrnes Downs. Like so many other entrepreneurial types in St. Andrew’s Parish, he also lived in the area, first in West Oak Forest and then in Wespanee. Another common thread found in so many of the stories from the early suburban live of St. Andrew’s Parish.
Do you have other local entrepreneur stories? Contact Donna Jacobs at westashleybook@gmail.com.
