1913: Ray Garman opens South Akron Awning at 877 S. Main St., south of downtown Akron.
1923-41: Company sponsors a winning semipro football team, the South Akron Awnings, that plays in a five-state area: Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and Indiana.
1960: Because the Main Street building is in path of expressway construction, the company moves to nearby
Coburn Street in South Akron.
1970: Business moves to 763 Kenmore Blvd. — site of an old car dealership — after urban renewal project calls for housing to be built at Coburn Street site.
1970: Ray Garman dies, ownership transfers to longtime employee Doy Minear, father of current owner and operator, Ranell Minear.
1978: Ranell Minear inherits business.
1984: Minear opens Celebrations Unlimited, a party rental store, at 910 Kenmore Blvd.
2013: Company celebrates 100th anniversary.
— Compiled by Katie Byard