or see what was new in the power tool section before going further in to get what we came for. Here in the city, it was less a social environment than I'm sure it is elsewhere, but it was surely more social than many other places in the city. Something about seeking help finding the part you needed or often the advice you needed to complete your home repair or project made for good neighborly connections in the course of that conversation. In that vein, this is an excellent piece looking at the place of the local hardware store in American culture and society.
But not the big stores like Home Depot and Lowe's. One has to find a small local store where the employees will know what you want just by a vague description and will even help you understand how to use them.
ReplyDeleteThe local one sells jam and honey from nearby farms, in addition to tools and knives and feed and seed.
ReplyDeleteTongues need maintenance, too.
ReplyDeleteEric Hines
Nothing useful to add other than Weird Al also appears to be a fan of the hardware store:
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-Stc Michael
There is a local hardware store that is doing just fine. The prices aren't that different from Big Box. Selection for real hardware stuff, like nuts and bolts, is often more complete than for Big Box. I went to the local hardware store after Big Box didn't have a part I needed. (Big Box is less than a mile away). In addition, service at the local hardware store is outstanding- which is not something you can say about Big Box.
ReplyDeleteDuring the Depression, my grandfather worked several years in a friend's hardware store when farm prices couldn't support a family.
Yeah, big box is a whole different animal- and I'm glad they exist, but they'll never fully replace the local hardware store. My closest local hardware store closed about a year ago, but there are several within ten minutes of me that have been around as long as I can remember, so at least 45 years, and probably a good deal longer. It seems that the big boxes cut into the market all right, but the good stores that really had a relationship to their neighborhood found ways to survive.
ReplyDeleteThe box stores have a selection a an inch wide and a mile deep. A good old hardware store is a mile wide and an inch deep. The closest thing we have is an ACE hardware run by a local owner, it is pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI still miss the old wood floors, worn by a thousand pairs of "cork" boots (with a sign saying no caulk boots....) the wood bins, and the wildly eclectic selection.
And the smell- as a kid I would accompany Dad to the Western Auto store, and the smell of the new bicycle tires permeated the air. To this day I cannot walk into a motorcycle shop without those memories attending.
Yeah, I was thinking about the smells too- sawdust, green lumber, oiled paper wrapped around metal wares, and that musty smell of a place that has a fair amount of old stock on hand. Love it.
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