Neighborhood Hardware Store
06/06/13 04:44
I am enrolled in the frequent customer rewards program at two area hardware stores. Most of the clerks in both stores know me by name. I like to say that I’m not much of a shopper. And that is somewhat true. I don’t like shopping for clothes. I haven’t been to the local mall this year. I don’t know my way around Kohls or Shopko or Target. But I do like to go to the hardware store.
Let’s see. It is Thursday. On Sunday afternoon I went to the hardware store to get a new pad for my buffer. I was waxing our camper. On Monday, I stopped by the store to get three carriage bolts. The ones I had in the garage were too long and I needed shorter ones. Our hardware store still has open stock bolts, which I prefer. I needed three, so if I had gone to a big box store, I would have probably had to buy a package of four to get three. On Tuesday I needed some self-tapping screws for a project. Yesterday I stopped to pick up some polishing compound to rub out a tiny scratch on a car fender. I haven’t been to the hardware store today, but then they haven’t opened for business yet today.
Since I am such a fan of my local hardware store, my heart goes out to the folks in Washington DC, who had to stand by helplessly as a four alarm fire raged through Frager’s hardware store on Capitol Hill. More than 100 firefighters fought to control the fire amidst heavy smoke more than hour after the fire was first reported. The thick black smoke could be seen for miles. They have now established a collapse zone around the building. It is likely to be a total loss.
Old-fashioned hardware stores are getting harder and harder to find. I’ve done my share of wandering around the big box stores. They are impressive. They have lots of stuff. But they don’t have rows of bins of bolts and nuts and screws and washers that can be bought by the piece. They don’t have free popcorn. They don’t know your dog’s name and offer a free dog biscuit. Not that this is a problem for me. I don’t have a dog. But I have to remember to bring a card to the big box store. At my local hardware store they know my name and enter it into the computer so I can get my rewards. The guy knows what kind of charcoal I like to burn and what kind of salt my water softener uses. And when I need a power tool, he’ll always knock a couple of bucks off of the price.
Hardware stores do not make for pretty fires. The varnish and paint can be explosively flammable and dangerous for the firefighters. There are lots of other things sold in hardware stores that can add fuel to a big fire.
Frager’s has been at the same address in Washington D.C. for more than 90 years. The big old brick building with the tall windows was an neighborhood institution. And now it is gone. Maybe there will be enough insurance and community support to rebuild. I hope so. There are other ways of doing business. There are other models of providing home repair and decorating products for folks. But it is a real tragedy to lose a local hardware store.
I’ve never been in Frager’s, but I know how I’d feel if my neighborhood hardware store burned down. My heart breaks for the folks who live in the area. It probably was more significant than anything that took place in the US Capitol Building yesterday. It will probably last longer in the memory of the folks in Washington D.C. than anything our Representatives and Senators did.
There was plenty of building drama in Philadelphia yesterday as well. A four-story building that was being torn down collapsed – and not in the way it was intended. They were going to demolish the big building. They didn’t intend for it to destroy the neighboring two-story building. And that building contained the Salvation Army Thrift Store, which was full of customers at the time. A dozen people were transported to area hospitals with non life-threatening injuries. But it appears also that at least one person was killed in the collapse. Somebody made a really big mistake in the process of demolishing that old building.
Of course any one of us can have a day that ends in a really different way than we expected. It might not take an event as dramatic as a fire or the collapse of a building. We might receive a medical diagnosis, or a phone call from a loved one. Weather can turn from threatening to downright dangerous in just a few minutes. Accidents happen. Those of us who work with people know how quickly things can change and how suddenly a crisis can develop. Buildings are just buildings. Property is just so much stuff. Those things can be replaced, and if they cannot be replaced, a person can learn to live without them.
But we can’t replace people when they are killed. We can’t undo injuries once they have occurred.
One of the most important tasks remaining today is to go through the rubble and try to figure out what happened. What caused the fire? What caused the building to collapse? And, most importantly, what can be done to prevent such an incident in the future.
I sometimes get a bit nervous when the fire department comes to inspect our church building. I know how quickly the price of mandatory repairs can mount. But I always say the same thing to people when talking about the process: “The fire department is not the enemy. We’re on the same side in this struggle. Both the fire department and we want to prevent people from getting hurt. Both of us want to avoid catastrophic loss.”
So my prayers are with those in Philadelphia and Washington DC who have experienced dramatic events. I pray that we can learn from these events some things that will help to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Let’s see. It is Thursday. On Sunday afternoon I went to the hardware store to get a new pad for my buffer. I was waxing our camper. On Monday, I stopped by the store to get three carriage bolts. The ones I had in the garage were too long and I needed shorter ones. Our hardware store still has open stock bolts, which I prefer. I needed three, so if I had gone to a big box store, I would have probably had to buy a package of four to get three. On Tuesday I needed some self-tapping screws for a project. Yesterday I stopped to pick up some polishing compound to rub out a tiny scratch on a car fender. I haven’t been to the hardware store today, but then they haven’t opened for business yet today.
Since I am such a fan of my local hardware store, my heart goes out to the folks in Washington DC, who had to stand by helplessly as a four alarm fire raged through Frager’s hardware store on Capitol Hill. More than 100 firefighters fought to control the fire amidst heavy smoke more than hour after the fire was first reported. The thick black smoke could be seen for miles. They have now established a collapse zone around the building. It is likely to be a total loss.
Old-fashioned hardware stores are getting harder and harder to find. I’ve done my share of wandering around the big box stores. They are impressive. They have lots of stuff. But they don’t have rows of bins of bolts and nuts and screws and washers that can be bought by the piece. They don’t have free popcorn. They don’t know your dog’s name and offer a free dog biscuit. Not that this is a problem for me. I don’t have a dog. But I have to remember to bring a card to the big box store. At my local hardware store they know my name and enter it into the computer so I can get my rewards. The guy knows what kind of charcoal I like to burn and what kind of salt my water softener uses. And when I need a power tool, he’ll always knock a couple of bucks off of the price.
Hardware stores do not make for pretty fires. The varnish and paint can be explosively flammable and dangerous for the firefighters. There are lots of other things sold in hardware stores that can add fuel to a big fire.
Frager’s has been at the same address in Washington D.C. for more than 90 years. The big old brick building with the tall windows was an neighborhood institution. And now it is gone. Maybe there will be enough insurance and community support to rebuild. I hope so. There are other ways of doing business. There are other models of providing home repair and decorating products for folks. But it is a real tragedy to lose a local hardware store.
I’ve never been in Frager’s, but I know how I’d feel if my neighborhood hardware store burned down. My heart breaks for the folks who live in the area. It probably was more significant than anything that took place in the US Capitol Building yesterday. It will probably last longer in the memory of the folks in Washington D.C. than anything our Representatives and Senators did.
There was plenty of building drama in Philadelphia yesterday as well. A four-story building that was being torn down collapsed – and not in the way it was intended. They were going to demolish the big building. They didn’t intend for it to destroy the neighboring two-story building. And that building contained the Salvation Army Thrift Store, which was full of customers at the time. A dozen people were transported to area hospitals with non life-threatening injuries. But it appears also that at least one person was killed in the collapse. Somebody made a really big mistake in the process of demolishing that old building.
Of course any one of us can have a day that ends in a really different way than we expected. It might not take an event as dramatic as a fire or the collapse of a building. We might receive a medical diagnosis, or a phone call from a loved one. Weather can turn from threatening to downright dangerous in just a few minutes. Accidents happen. Those of us who work with people know how quickly things can change and how suddenly a crisis can develop. Buildings are just buildings. Property is just so much stuff. Those things can be replaced, and if they cannot be replaced, a person can learn to live without them.
But we can’t replace people when they are killed. We can’t undo injuries once they have occurred.
One of the most important tasks remaining today is to go through the rubble and try to figure out what happened. What caused the fire? What caused the building to collapse? And, most importantly, what can be done to prevent such an incident in the future.
I sometimes get a bit nervous when the fire department comes to inspect our church building. I know how quickly the price of mandatory repairs can mount. But I always say the same thing to people when talking about the process: “The fire department is not the enemy. We’re on the same side in this struggle. Both the fire department and we want to prevent people from getting hurt. Both of us want to avoid catastrophic loss.”
So my prayers are with those in Philadelphia and Washington DC who have experienced dramatic events. I pray that we can learn from these events some things that will help to prevent similar incidents in the future.