The Gluck Family
Murray Gluck was born in June, 1922, and at some point early in life was given the nickname “Boyze” (pronounced BOY-zee), for reasons never quite completely ascertained.
At the age of 17, Boyze Gluck lied about his age and enlisted in the Merchant Marine working on ships - starting as a wiper and rising to the position of engineer - sailing perilous sea lanes during World War II.
In 1946, Gluck rescued Rita Marie Smith from a blind date gone sour, which worked out rather well for the pair - leading to their marriage in 1948. They lived for a while on a 78-foot yacht, the Idlewild, moored in Roslyn, New York until it was discovered that Rita was pregnant with their first child, Lewis. Over the next eight years Muriel, Judith and Doreen Tamara were born.
While Boyze’s father was in the business of government surplus (Hamilton Equipment Co. in Brooklyn, New York), Boyze started his own mobile surplus store utilizing a converted school bus. This rolling trade show traveled from town to town with the banner “Gov’t Surpluss” (sic) painted boldly on its flanks.
In 1949, Boyze and Rita Gluck, along with a business partner, opened Rockville Centre Trading Post on Long Island. True to their surpie roots, the Glucks sold a blend of sporting goods, work clothing, military surplus, cordage, chain and even hunting equipment and guns. This operation soon morphed into a four-store business under the name Sportsman’s Trading Post of America.
After many successful years, trouble developed in the business partnership and the Glucks decided that they would open a new business that would be exclusively family-owned. With this in mind, the Glucks built a store (with Rita overseeing construction while Boyze sailed as First Engineer on the United States Lines to bring in income) on Jericho Turnpike in Huntington, New York. What sealed the choice of location was the chance to build the business adjacent to the family home so that the children would not be “latch-key kids”. The business known as Turnpike Surplus opened its door in 1961.
With Boyze’s background in and love of all things boating-related, the new store specialized in marine and boating items of all kinds and ultimately changed the name to Turnpike Marine. As for surplus, the store sold a mix of about 40% military surplus along with office furniture, electronic parts, hardware items and tools, and just about anything worthwhile that Boyze would find at auction.
The Gluck sisters would frequently take days off from school to accompany their dad to Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan in their International truck, which would come back laden with all sorts of wonders from warehouses on Canal Street or lots in Brooklyn and Queens. “These were exciting times for us” noted Judith Gluck. “As children, we were treated like royalty by Dad’s suppliers, including Hank Matthau, brother of actor Walter Matthau. Hank Matthau operated a business on West Broadway. “We always returned with some kind of gift or gadget.”
Throughout the early 60s, Boyze maintained his career in the Merchant Marine, working on ships at sea sporadically until finally putting in to port for good in the mid-60s to concentrate on the surplus business. The store was built up with additional construction over the years until it fully occupied the entire street corner right up to the sidewalks and extending to the rear of the property with an enormous basement warehouse.
Their marine business thrived, with yacht clubs and other large clients on the roster from Maine to Florida. Turnpike Marine would supply hundreds of moorings around the eastern seaboard each spring and summer.
Over the years, though, competitors sprung up in Huntington (located on Long Island’s north shore and home to several marinas and boatyards) and diluted Turnpike Marine’s market share. As a result, the military surplus side of the business grew strongly in comparison, and it currently constitutes about 90% of the store’s ongoing business.
“We still specialize in marine items that are hard to find, and that our local competitors either don’t carry or don’t know how to sell,” explained Muriel Gluck. Throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, The family maintained a very traditional army/navy retail business, their success based on commitment to highly personal and detailed customer service and a passion for finding products that other stores could not, all in the name of making sure every customer’s needs were met. Boyze Gluck believed in making sure that customers understood how to use any product that the store sold, and would often give highly detailed, hand drawn instructional sheets to customers to make sure that products were used safely and effectively.
Over the years, the business reflected the personality of its owners. In many ways, it celebrated the spirit of the earliest army/navy stores with splashy, eye-catching hand-lettered signs on fluorescent poster board, written in an ornate calligraphic style that grabbed customers by the lapel and demanded their attention. The store is still decorated with clever signage, and quirky objets’d’art and slogans that both amuse and provide a tip-off to the quality of the buying experience - as well as to the playful yet intense personality of Boyze Gluck.
The store sought business everywhere it could, leaving no stone unturned - a reflection on the ways of Boyze’s father, a true first-generation surpie.
“We used to pile up a lot of items in a big station wagon, even loading items on home-made roof racks, and hit the flea markets on Sundays,” recalls Doreen Gluck. “We would also open up the store at all hours during snowstorms or car accidents on the turnpike, for police and county road workers who needed foul weather apparel, rope or other items to do their jobs.”
This whatever-it-takes business philosophy, so commonly practiced by the most successful and enduring army/navy stores, helped the family immeasurably through lean years and family crises such as the serious health problems that plagued Boyze through the years.
Turnpike Marine has always sold genuine U.S. military surplus, with only a small percentage of their military product line sourced from mil-spec suppliers. They have established relationships not only with reliable wholesalers of surplus, but also have a local foundation of military personnel who supply them with surplus goods as they re-enter civilian life.
In recent years, best selling items for the business include duffel bags, BDUs, boonies and other headwear, and anything USMC-related. Over the years, Turnpike Marine has relied on a customer base in divergent areas, including more than a few celebrities, according to Muriel. “Our regular customers include paintballers, hunters, college kids, police and security personnel, theater groups and many more,” she said. Supreme court judges, performance artists Blue Man Group, and rock stars including Billy Joel and Twisted Sister have all passed through their portal over time.
After 40 years of running his business almost on a 24/7 basis, Boyze Gluck passed away in February, 2001. True to form, he worked in the store until one day prior to his hospitalization and ultimate passing. Rita Gluck, whose dedication to the business equaled that of her husband, passed away in March, 2003, leaving the business in the hands of Muriel, Doreen and Judith.
“Without Dad and Mom, it was very difficult to carry on,” said Muriel. “She was not only the bookkeeper, but the glue that held the business and our family together. The business was and is, all about them.” Left on their own, the sisters discovered that the store still had a lot of friends inside the industry to help steer them through difficult times.
“So many people have been good to us, helping us find products and offering favorable terms and purchasing minimums,” agreed Muriel and Doreen. The Gluck sisters especially credit companies like Tarashinsky Merchandise, Rothco, Talking Tops, Tullahoma, Marspec International, Hoovers Manufacturing, Fox Outdoor, Schwarzman Export-Import, Fidelity and others with being loyal vendors over the years and particularly in the years after the passing of Boyze.
As to what factors helped make the business prosper over four decades, the sisters were unanimous in their conclusion; an unflinching dedication to customer service, product knowledge and most of all, honesty in their business dealings with customers and suppliers; and dedication to going the extra mile to find new business and to keep customers satisfied. An example of their commitment is reflected in their marketing efforts over the years, which centered around their sales flyers that were not only given out in the store, but left in other places of business and even on car windshields for miles around. Boyze created these flyers along with the four children, staying up till all hours, cutting, pasting and labeling them for posting around the U.S. as well as locally.
The sisters finally conceded that the business as presently constituted needs to change. “The family’s intentions to retire the business as currently established and move upstate was in our minds prior to Boyze’s passing, and the property, not the business, was put on the market.” For example, as Muriel stated, “our property taxes are four cents per minute and the costs for utilities, insurance, oil, etc., were eating into the profits of the mom & pop store.”
For business and personal lifestyle reasons, the sisters (all of whom are artists) are moving forward and north with a new plan. They have purchased property in upstate New York, including an 8,000 square foot barn that will be converted into studio spaces and a retail military surplus (and other goods) store. The new store will also house the parrot and exotic bird rescue currently on the grounds of the store in Huntington. The new business will be operated as a mix of old school business practices and new world ideas and concepts.
For example, the sisters intend to do much of their selling via their Web site and through other e-commerce and auction sites; yet, they also plan to purchase a store on wheels as in the early days of Boyze’s surplus career, and visit Veterans hospitals, Fire and Police stations and construction job sites in their community to bring the sales to their customers’ front doors. They are also planning on catering to the needs of their current loyal customer base via their 700+ mailing list.
The reconstructed business will initially only have limited hours, either by appointment or on a shortened schedule. Aside from revitalizing their military surplus business and opening new avenues for growth, it’s what the sisters need for themselves at this stage in their lives.
Or, as Muriel Gluck noted “We want to be able to run a great business, have time to be creative and still be able to sit outside the store at sundown in our little chairs and take in a glorious sunset.” Turnpike Marine will close its doors in November, 2005. But that’s not where the story ends; it’s where it begins. We will be back in a couple of years to see how it’s all working out.
