Joseph Hardy, founder of 84 Lumber, dies on 100th birthday

FARMINGTON, Pa. (AP) — Joseph Hardy III, founder of the 84 Lumber chain of building materials stores and developer of the Nemacolin resort, has died. He was 100. A family statement provided by the company says the family had lost its “patriarch and all-around great man” who died Saturday on his 100th birthday at his home in Farmington, Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Hardy was credited with “rethinking the lumber business in the late 1950s with a cash-and-carry approach focused on professional contractors and builders.” He expanded the company to become the nation’s largest privately owned building materials supplier. He also developed the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa, now known simply as Nemacolin, and operated the Meadows Racetrack.