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An icon, John Harney, beloved by all, dies at 83

SALISBURY — Harney & Sons Fine Teas founder and President John Harney Sr. died Tuesday, June 17, at 83 years of age.
 
Harney was born and raised in Dunkirk, N.Y., where he grew up on a family farm. Through the G.I. Bill, he attended Cornell University’s hotel administration school and moved to Salisbury in the 1960s. 
 
In nearby Cornwall, Harney became innkeeper at The Covered Bridge Inn before assuming part-ownership at Salisbury’s White Hart Inn, where he was manager until 1983. 
 
At this time, an English expat named Stanley Mason rented the inn’s basement for business operations related to his company, Sarum Teas. 
 
When the Inn started offering Mason’s product — and to much success, at that — Harney became increasingly interested in the trade.
 
Mason taught Harney the art of blending and eventually sold the company to him and two other partners, but after a few years, the veteran hospitality professional decided to go all-in for a mid-life career switch.
 
Harney founded Harney & Sons Fine Teas in 1983, operating originally out of Salisbury.
 
The emerging blender expanded and moved the company to Millerton in the late 1990s — first in what is now Arnoff Moving & Storage, then to its current factory location at 5723 Route 22 — and added a tea-tasting room in the village in 2005.
 
It is there where Alexander Harney acts as cafe manager and perpetuates the ideals of his grandfather.
 
“First and foremost, my grandfather, through his years at Cornell, always had a keen eye for customer service,” Harney said, considering the company’s success. “He always liked making people feel at home and feel happy. That carried over to the tea company — it’s always had that personal touch.”
 
“On top of that, he always liked using quality ingredients,” he added. 
 
Harney said his grandfather’s personable traits translated passionately into the community.
 
“Everyone in Millerton knew my grandfather,” he said. “He would buy flowers on Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day and hand them out to every woman he saw. He was good.”
 
The late Harney did much of the company’s footwork, too, according to his grandson, trekking up to Boston to secure Ritz-Carlton as his first client, and elsewhere for other household names like Waldorf Astoria and Williams-Sonoma.
 
Now, Harney’s tea is an international household name of its own.
 
“A couple years ago he was in Russia, meeting people out there,” the grandson said.
 
Harney & Sons was also approached by the Historic Royal Palaces in Great Britain to be the official tea of royal parks including Kensington Gardens, Kew Gardens and the Tower of London, to name a few.
 
As for the company’s impact here in Millerton, Harney pointed toward job creation and village revitalization.
 
“We helped accelerate the revitalization of Millerton,” he said. “I don’t think we can take all the credit, but we definitely helped.”
 
Harney said he is not surprised when people as far as Philadelphia make the drive to Millerton to visit the tea store, bringing traffic and business into the village. 
 
Looking to the future, the Harney family is tasked with regrouping its leadership. Harney’s sons Paul and Michael (Alexander’s father) are currently co-vice presidents, and Alexander plans to stay put as well.
 
“Being in the family company has its ups and downs, but you know, I can’t imagine working for a better company,” the third-generation tea aficionado said. “We care about everybody in our company.”
 
The family is currently planning its second annual Harney Fest in August — falling just around the late founder’s birthday — where the factory doors will open to the public for a celebration of Harney’s life. More info will be added to www.harney.com as the festival approaches.
 
For now, those who have photos, memories and/or stories they’d like to share of “Papa John,” as friends and family affectionately called him, can do so on the public Facebook page, www.facebook.com/JohnDavidHarney.
 
Click here for a full obituary.

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