What’s New at Seasonal

We hope your year’s been as good as ours
by: Dennis DiPaolo

The Seasonal Specialty Stores family grew a bit this winter, as Chris’ wife Sheila delivered a baby girl, Cara, and Tod’s wife Edie, delivered a baby girl, Kristine. Jeanne and I bought a log cabin in Mason, and Anna bought a new car. We all wish to thank you, our customers, for your business. Without it, we could not support ourselves and our families nearly so well.

We’ve tried to keep up with our professional training. Jeanne and I attended seminars on casual furniture and general business in Chicago and San Francisco. Anna spent three days at the pool seminars in Atlantic City. Tod and Joe spent a day at the Aqua Products factory, becoming certified warranty repair people for Aquabots and Robotechs. Anna, Joe, Keith and Tod went to Kreepy Krauly and Kreepy Kleer School. The same crew will attend PacFab, Starbright, and Octoclean classes. Chris, Tod, Anna, Keith, Joe, Eric, Eli and I will attend the two-day Biolab and Softswim seminars.

Jeanne has become a color consultant for Telescope Casual-one of America’s largest and oldest patio furniture manufacturers. All of the colors and fabrics to be sold by Telescope in 1994 and 1995 were chosen by Jeanne, a full-time color consultant, and Telescope’s in-house fashion designer. It’s a credit to Jeanne’s reputation for understanding style and fashion that the owners of Telescope would ask for her help. I was elected president of the Target Buying Group for 1993-1994, and I’m designing a new winterizing chemical program for Target, that we will be carrying in the fall. The winter chemical kits will be the best kits in the country—and I’ve specifically designed them for the water conditions around Nashua.

Chemical Notes
You’ve probably seen the recent newspaper reports that the federal government wants to ban chlorine use because of problems with cancer and the ozone layer. The chlorine manufacturers are just starting to work on answers, but no one sees much of a chance for the government to win this one.

Chlorine is easily the cheapest available poison to kill bacteria in drinking water; where the effects of sunlight that reduce its effectiveness in swimming pools are not an issue inside underground pipes. When American tax payers find out how much it will cost to switch their town water supplies to a “safer” chemical, they won’t stand for it. Once the chlorine companies win the battle over drinking water, the government won’t even consider coming after the swimming pool industry, where hardly anyone ever really drinks the pool water!

I’m going to put together more information as it becomes available, and make it available in the store. We are also looking into the simazine algaecide problem. The EPA may discontinue production this year, and they may take it off the shelves instead of letting you stock up. Right now, we’re leaving it in the warehouse until someone in Washington makes a decision.

Solar Heat
If you didn’t look at our active solar heaters last year, you should do so this year. They really do work, and at unbelievably low prices. In July, you can even set them to reverse to cool your pool water down! During the Pre-Season Sale, prices for a complete unit start at only $399.