One day in August, when Hans Beecken, co-owner and operator of Scott Tent & Awning, leaves after a day of work, he will lock the building’s doors for the last time.

He has repeated that simple act hundreds of times since he bought the business at 107 S. First St. in Marshalltown.

It will signify he is retired – ready or not.

The day might be “at the end of August or maybe the week before” he said.

Barbara Beecken, his spouse and co-owner, doesn’t think it will be the week before, though.

The Beeckens sold the building and the lot which served as home to their repair and re-upholstering business to St. Mary Parish of Marshalltown.

He is not sure how he will feel when he walks away.

“At first, I will have to think about it a little bit,” he said. “Because, it will be different. I’ve been up here (the shop) the last 44 years. A long haul … a lot of fun. I’ll miss the customers, and I have had a lot good customers. I’d like to say thank you to them.”

Beecken’s daughter, Michelle Daggett of Marshalltown, knows how she feels.

“He has always worked hard to provide for his family,” she said. “In April 1970, dad and mom purchased Barwick’s Scott Tent & Awning.

They dropped the Barwick name and retained Scott Tent & Awning. So after 44 years, you can understand the attachment we have to that place. Over the years, many family members helped dad. We hung awnings, pounded grommets and removed staples from furniture.”

The craftsman truly had a career.

And over four decades, someone like Beecken sees changes.

“Some good … some not so good,” he might say.

The awning part of the business was discontinued a number of years ago, when a key employee retired.

“You can’t replace people like that anymore,” he said, commenting that the employee was skilled, and still missed.

Rather than train a new person, he decided to retire from that part of the business, much to the dismay of two Marshalltown business owners, Jonathan Hull of Willard’s Furs and Fashions, and Attorney Steve Irvine, who lauded his work.

Making and repairing boat covers – and other applications from canvas – was dropped for physical reasons.

“Health wise things are a little bit different,” he said. “That is the biggest boo-boo … I would like to stay here … talk to the people … the customers. One day you have to move on anyway, or someone else tells you to. We don’t know when.”

That left only the re-upholstering and repair, but which kept him extremely busy.

Sometimes there were periodic requests to stitch American flags and baseball gloves.

If possible, Hans Beecken gladly complied. If not, he told the customer candidly and honestly – the only way he did business.

Beecken approached the challenges of running the business with the same “can-do” attitude he’s employed since he came to America in 1961.

Then a 24year old German immigrant, he came here to “see how we did things.” It was not borne of the desire to have a better life, the driving force for many others. He had a good job in Germany, having successfully completed an apprenticeship program in re-upholstering furniture. In time, he could have become a master craftsman and taken over the family business.

His curiosity about the United States was fostered by the GIs he had met in Stuttgart during, and after, World War II.

His interest increased when an aunt and uncle, who had immigrated to the U.S., spoke highly of their new life.

In contrast with the GIs, Hans Beecken’s experience with one British soldier was not good.

Daggett, described the scenario. It was post World War II Germany when many went hungry due to the ravages of war. Her dad, then 9, told her the story of asking the British soldier if he could finish what was left.

“Instead of giving the food to him, the soldier threw it in the fire and laughed as he walked away,” Daggett said.

Laughter would play another role in his life only years later and in the U.S. It would provide motivation for him to learn English faster.

Hans Beecken had decided to get a visa, and in time, apply to become a citizen.

Then, immigrants who desired that coveted status were required to learn English.

He was working as a farm hand for a Melbourne couple who sponsored him. Some other farmers were making fun at his expense due to his broken English.

“They were standing there all laughing,” he said. “Hey, I’m going to learn this thing quick, ’cause I don’t like that. They don’t tell me what is going on, you know.”

He described learning English.

“So I took a newspaper, a picture, read it as much as I could, and then watched cartoons on television,” he said. “Then we went to Miller (Middle School) night school to learn English. We worked in the day.”

His sponsors helped him with his English too.

“The lady of the house was pretty good with sentences that didn’t come out right, she explained “the” and “they,” he said.

In 1963 he married Barbara, whom he met at the former Ideal Pastry Shop on Main Street.

He worked at Lennox Manufacturing and the former KIOWA factory while studying to be a citizen. He also worked at Barwick’s Canvas Products, a business he and Barbara would later purchase.

He sometimes worked two jobs. He became a citizen at a ceremony in Des Moines in 1968.

A judge, presiding over his application hearing made a lasting impression on Hans Beecken.

“He held up a penny and asked me if I knew what it was,” Hans Beecken said. “‘It’s a penny,’ I replied. And the judge said: ‘Now that you are an American, you are not entitled to one red cent.'”

Daggett said her dad does not take his citizenship for granted.

“Let me tell you he knows more about these United States than any other American I have ever come in contact with,” she said. “My father takes his rights as an American very seriously, he votes and sometimes gets mad if we have forgotten.”

Daggett also had advice as his retirement nears.

“So dad, as you start this leg of your journey, feel sad for just a little while, but enjoy yourself,” she said. “Do the things you have not been able to do for so long, take some trips with mom, catch up with your friends, and have a ball!”