I had that Mom & Pop hardware store experience in the early part of this century. The store was on the main street of a small town and had been a family-owned hardware store since the middle of the LAST century. There was an old fashioned wooden screen door with a long spring on it , that would give out a familiar ‘screeeeech’ as it extended and then would slam it behind you when you stepped in. I stepped on worn and faded hardwood floors that would creak when you walked on them. I was looking for just one bolt to fit a nut and the old guy came from behind the cash register (the kind that was a work of art by itself, cast iron with mechanically driven metal plates with numbers on them that popped up and gave out a satisfying ‘ding’ ) to lead me down the aisle to exactly what I wanted and he even mentioned that the most important thing is that I was satisfied.Of course a couple years after that, Home Depot opened up a store on the outskirts of that small town and you know the rest
I had that Mom & Pop hardware store experience in the early part of this century. The store was on the main street of a small town and had been a family-owned hardware store since the middle of the LAST century. There was an old fashioned wooden screen door with a long spring on it , that would give out a familiar ‘screeeeech’ as it extended and then would slam it behind you when you stepped in. I stepped on worn and faded hardwood floors that would creak when you walked on them. I was looking for just one bolt to fit a nut and the old guy came from behind the cash register (the kind that was a work of art by itself, cast iron with mechanically driven metal plates with numbers on them that popped up and gave out a satisfying ‘ding’ ) to lead me down the aisle to exactly what I wanted and he even mentioned that the most important thing is that I was satisfied.Of course a couple years after that, Home Depot opened up a store on the outskirts of that small town and you know the rest