McHenry marks 30th anniversary at Point's Glass

McHenry owned a small glass shop in Bakersfield when he heard that Leo Point was selling the Porterville business. McHenry spoke with Point about purchasing the shop and two weeks later a deal began.

Having been born and raised in Fullerton, McHenry said he wanted to get back to a small town. He and his fiancé, Barbara, who later became his wife, were happy with the Porterville area and ready to take up shop in a small community.

That was in July of 1974.

Since then, the McHenrys have continued to provide and replace windows, shower doors and mirrors in homes and businesses. They specialize in glass with special designs or patterns.

"We're a service company, when people have glass problems, we take care of it." McHenry said. "The glass has basically stayed the same."

And so has the customer service - with McHenry, 81, still providing one-on-one personal attention to his customers. And though he considers himself "half retired," he can still be found almost daily at the shop - running the business and giving the employees a hard time, he said.

At least two employees have been with the company for many years.

Juan Abad has served as head glazer for 11 years and James Parham has been the assistant head glazer for six years.

"They're a great team," company employee Rosa Avila said. "Any time I've sent them out to work on a house, I always get compliments. They are so dedicated to (the business) and it shows in the quality of their work."

More than a thousand homes and businesses have been serviced by Point's Glass.

"We average (working on) about three to five homes or businesses a day, five days a week, 12 months a year for 30 years," said Jeremy Robbins, an employee of the business. "That's a lot of glass."

Karen Johns, president of Webb and Son, a local general contracting company, said she remembers McHenry from when she was a young girl and she has known him most of her life.

"We've been doing business with him about 30 years. We're a third generation business. My grandfather started working with him, then my dad and now I do," Johns said. "He's done a lot of glass for us. We've really enjoyed working with him. Particularly because he is such a fun guy to have around."

McHenry's handiwork can be found from Santa Paula to Mojave to Fresno and all over town - from the windows at the new City Hall to the glass work on the first large building at Eagle Mountain Casino on the Tule River Reservation.

They are now working on replacing 90 windows at the Porterville Fire Department's Station 1.

McHenry said he replaces a lot of older windows with dual-pane, insulated windows.

"That's the biggest change since we started," McHenry said. "Everyone wants energy-efficient windows. You can save a considerable amount of money every month after you install the new windows."

And as long as there are homes and windows in town, McHenry said he will continue to work.