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In article ,
(tshiker) wrote:

Tom Watson wrote in message
. ..
When Mr. Buck Moser decided to close up the hardware store
everybody
around here felt like they were about to lose a family member. Six
generations of the Moser family had stood behind that counter and Mr.
Buck had done it for about the longest of them all, spending
seventy-some of his eighty-five years working at and then running the
store

Agnew and Taylor
Lake Ronkonkoma NY

Started out as a dirt road general store/phone exchange/post
office/hardware store.
Open the door and a cow bell let the help know you were there. Walk
down any isle and you could hear the old floor boards protest your
arrival. Smell the big pot of coffee always hot and free. Go on a
sunday after church and you were sure to run into half the
congragation (after the "Blue laws" were ended that is). The store
grew up with the town.
Stocked every thing from coal furnace caulk to udder balm to snow
sleds. If you needed it chances were they sold it. If it was broken
chances were they knew how to fix it and had the parts. I don't
remember when they opened (some time around 1900) but I remember
holding on to my fathers plaid shirt as he walked into the store and
right to the exact spot to find what he came in for.
The store is still open and I love to take my son with me when I go
into town for a visit. There is no less then 3 Borgs 1 Lowes and Two
Sears Hardware stores with in 10 miles of the place now. Lets hope
they can hold on.

Good Luck and God Speed
Tom S.

I live in Oak Park, Il just west of Chicago and at the end of the block
is Gilchrist's, a small old-tyme hardware. Started as an offshoot from
teh plumbing company in town. Several years ago, the older Gilchrist who
still lives over the store with his wife of some 40-50 years sold the
store to another budding curmudgeon who has kept it as is. Old maple
floors and it's small, perhaps 800 sq/ft plus the basement and back
building. Stuff hanging on the walls, bins and shelves behind the cash
register, and all the little bins above the wall showcase with the
handles where you find hinges, etc. In the back corner is the shelves,
with all the nails, screws, etc. Out on the floor are the 4 ft high
shelves with glue, etc. And for the most part, he's got the every day
stuff and the prices are fair. That's all the neat stuff, but there is a
downside. There's lots of stuff he doesn't have. He can order the stuff
buf sometimes...for ex, I use Flecto-Varathane's "Natural Oil" for my
antiques and such. No one here carries it. I tried 20 hardware and HD's,
Menards. Jack said he could order it. That was a Month ago. He has to
get if from one place he orders from every 2-3 weeks. In part it's
Rust-Oleum's policies where some minimum order has to be made, so jack
has to go to someone where he can order a few cans.

However, I go there to get whatever I can to help him stay in business.
He seems to have quite a few contractors that come in for supplies and
have accounts or just pay on a card or cash. Still, he has some of the
old stuff no one has, but Jack surely doesn't have the same knowledge
that the old owner Andy did, but he's also 40 years younger too. The
store seems to have quite a few workers there, sometimes three taking
care of customers, so I can only wish them well and buy what I can. It's
nice having this blast from the past so close.

--
Jim Polaski
"The measure of a man is what he will do
knowing he will get nothing in return."