Painting firm celebrates 100 years in business.

A.G. Williams Painting Company has kept its doors open every week for a century--despite cataclysmic events sweeping the country, including World Wars I and II, the Korean War, The Vietnam War, the Great Depression, and the recession of the early 1990's--a testament to the fortitude of the Williams family.

Three generations of the Williams family have passed through the door of the firm that was started by Arthur G. Ratsikas, a Greek immigrant who changed his name once to Arthur Rogers when he passed through the gates of Ellis Island in 1904, and again to Arthur Williams in 1906, based on the Sherwin Williams paint products he used in his work.

After a brief stint apprenticing with a cabinet maker, Williams began soliciting clients for his work as a painter and repairman door to door. When his work started gelling, Williams opened a business on Perry Street in Manhattan--which he kept open even during the height of the Depression when all the other businesses on the street seemed to be shutting down.

"My grandfather was remarkable in that he retained all 12 employees on his payroll through the Depression despite the fact that he often had no work for them," said George P. Williams, the third generation of Williams who, together with his brother Artie, have owned the painting company since 1978.

Arthur Williams' eldest son, George Williams, joined the firm in 1946. George Williams, in 1961, moved A.G. Williams Painting Company to the suburbs of Pelham, New York.

The firm weathered the Vietnam War nimbly, resorting to measures such as running their car engine on paint thinner for several months during a gasoline shortage. The engine ran for two years before corroding and petering out.

Arthur Williams broke into the business by following in his fathers footsteps, just as his father had picked up the trade. When Arthur was 11-years-old his father took him to work during the summertime. One day, standing on the sidelines waiting for his father to finish working, he spied a ladder and paper to be hung and climbed up and started fooling around with the paint. "That was how I first got hooked on the work. I always liked the idea of being able to create some thing. Of being able to take something that was old and worn and make something new," Artie Williams said.

Artie was paid $5 a day. With his first paycheck, he ran down to the corner store and bought his mother a piece of costume jewelry.

Artie Williams and George P. Williams took over the business in the early 1980's, and moved it to a location further down the block in Pelham.

During the recession of the early 1990's, the Williams brothers drew upon the lessons of their grandfather.

"The company was hit hard by the recession of the early 1990's and we had to take jobs at cost or even below cost to keep our crews working," said Artie Williams. "It was crucial for us to uphold the tradition established by our grandfather and father to never miss payroll, even in the toughest economic times."

The brothers changed with the industry weathering ups and downs. They painted brownstones during a time when there was no latex paint and everything was lead based, when walls had to be cleaned very carefully, and painters had to mix their own primes. They remember when painters had to paint external wood and hung swing scaffoldings off the building.

As time passed, they added modern techniques to their repertoire, including fine decorative and marbeling techniques.

"Every job is different, every location is different, every job presents a new challenge, you are never going to get bored," Artie said.

The brothers work has taken them to some interesting heights. In the early 1990's, they drew on the experience of one of their workers who had previously been a steeple jack and painted an antenna on the roof of the World Trade Center. They have stood on ladders delicately applying hand made pewter paper to a resident's living room ceiling. They crouched down to complete a rush job they scored in Greenwich, Connecticut, painting in fine detail a six foot high miniature replication of George Washington's home in precise colors that had been analyzed by an expert.

"Its one end of the spectrum to the other. From high end residential to commercial, we do it all," Artie said.

At a celebration commemorating the centennial anniversary of the firm October 28, customers, employees and vendors will come together to celebrate the firm.

Artie and George P. Williams Jr. will pay tribute to their grandfather and their father, who passed the legacy of the business to them. "It's pretty impressive when you think about it, its amazing that the business had survived all those years," Artie said.

"It would be great if we could keep it going, if our grandchildren could have a 200-year-celebration somewhere down the line."