Snapshots of History
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Hardware stores are a very broad topic. There are an abundance of categories that fit under the “hardware” umbrella. And hardware stores used to be so common, we forget how many there were. I will solve that issue right now.
For a brief amount of time, there were four hardware stores on the north side of the Mount Ayr square, all at the same time. In May of 1965 Cole’s Firestone was located at 122 W. Madison. Guy Todd had his store at 120 W. Madison. Gambles, operated by Melvin and Dorothy Wurster, was located at 112 W. Madison. And, finally, Horne Hardware occupied 108 W. Madison. Four hardware stores within 200 feet of each other. Amazing.
Also, in 1965, Lion Auto Store was at 106 S. Taylor, Underwood Auto Supply was at 116 S. Taylor, and then there was Hawkeye Lumber and Country Boys Lumber. There were a host of other businesses where certain hardware could be purchased like Bastow Feed & Grain and Prentis Hatchery.
But, let’s not forget about Hacker’s Paint & Wallpaper. This enterprise opened at 109 E. Madison in February 1953. Mr. and Mrs. Leo Hacker operated the store which sat next door to Lefty’s. Mrs. Andy Johnson and Mrs. Calvin Adams bought this business in 1971. Jane Thomas bought the firm in 1976. The business was now called The Decor Shop. Jane moved to 200 N. Taylor in 1977.
Guy Todd had an amazing career in the hardware business. He started his career as an apprentice for Curtis R. Keating in 1905. Todd then went to work for the competition, Kinsell Hardware. DeWitt Clinton Kinsell started this business about 1869. DeWitt’s son, Jesse Lee, took over the firm and Guy Todd became a partner at some point. In 1926 J. L. Kinsell retired and Todd bought his partner’s interest in the store. Locations for Todd Hardware included 202 W. Madison, 110 S. Taylor, and 120 W. Madison. Guy was in the hardware business 60 years.
This week’s photo shows Horne Hardware at 108 W. Madison. This business was started in 1928 by Charles Horne who had been in partnership with the Liggett brothers in the H. H. Wilson grocery store. But Charlie had some hardware experience under his belt having worked for I. J. Dalbey at the lumber yards in Mount Ayr and Redding. In 1918, he partnered with Harry and Arthur Liggett in the very successful grocery store of H. H. Wilson at 112 W. Madison.
In 1928, Charlie bought the hardware business of the retiring Curtis R. Keating at 106 S. Taylor. Keating had come to Mount Ayr from Afton in the 1880s to engage in the hardware business. In January 1931, Horne Hardware adopted a “cash only” policy. This was a common side effect of The Great Depression.”
In 1933, Horne moved to 106 E. Madison (the Odd Fellows building) and would stay there until 1960. Charles Horne died in 1960 and his son Bill, and wife Barb, moved the business to 108 W. Madison later in 1960. The store closed about 1996.
Let’s see what I can remember from the 1970s. Us kids were attracted to Cole’s Firestone and Wesrtern Auto (opened in 1972) because of the large inventory of sporting goods like fishing rods, baseball gloves, bicycles, BB guns, and footballs. Cole’s also had TVs and stereos. Maybe Western Auto did, as well.
I remember buying fishing equipment and shotgun shells at Loren Lamb’s house located at US 169 and Monroe Street. I don’t know what he called his business. It seems like he was open on Sunday during hunting season.
When we were kids, we couldn’t wait for the weather to get warm enough for camping and fishing. Sometimes we jumped the gun and nearly froze camping out too early in the spring.
