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In
1939, Harriett started
her first job, she began
working for Ralph Gibbs
of Gibbs Hardware. It
was the beginning of a
long and interesting
career. In 1940, she
went to work for George
C Gray, Sr at the Sabina
Bank. She worked there
for ten years. She would
work at the hardware
store after banking
hours.
On
August 6, 1948, Harriett
and Dwight purchased the
Moore's Store, located
in the Dun Building.
They were next to the
Curtis Bookstore. This
bookstore sold new and
used school textbooks.
The public school did
not furnish the
textbooks, as they do
today. Also located in
this building was Clint
Shoop's Meat Shop. The
building is located
halfway between Elm and
Mound on the west side
of Howard Street in
Sabina.
1948
store (above); Moved in
1952; 1961 store
(below)
They
rented from Walter
Shoop, the rent was
$45.00. This was the
monthly rental from
1948-52. In 1953, the
rent was raised, so
Dwight and Harriett
borrowed from the
Savings and Loan and
built their store at 70
N. Howard, where they
remained until they
retired. The store was
built with a hip roof.
This was a new
innovation in 1953 and
drew a lot of attention.
The rafters were made of
curved wood. They were
under the Trustworthy
name--Kruse Hardware in
Cincinnati was the
wholesaler. As time went
on, they changed their
store's name to Holmes
Hardware.
In
1948, they began selling
the new phenomenon,
television! The brand
was Sentinel (Magnavox
bought them out) from
Chicago. The first one
was a 9 inch screen,
black and white and
portable! The TV had
tubes in the back. The
Holmes took it home on
the weekends. The TV was
displayed on a table in
the back. Wrestling was
televised on Saturday,
the guys took their
"lunch hour" to watch
it. The TV repair room
was next door--Studio
Revive is located there
today. When they
remodeled, they replaced
the windows, making
showcases out of the
glass.
Harriett
was the deputy registrar
for the Bureau of Motor
Vehicles for many years.
Many of us purchased our
plates there! In the
50's and 60's the plates
changed color every year
and the year was
imprinted into the
metal. Harriett
displayed this year's
model in the front
window. To this day, if
you give Harriett a
number with LB after it,
she can tell you who it
is registered to. Until
the 1980's LB meant
Sabina, KZ was
Wilmington, KS was
Washington CH.
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Approximately
47 different
high school
students worked
after school
and in the
summer
throughout the
years. One
family had five
members who
worked with
Harriett and
Dwight, the
Morgans: Joe,
Bobby, Jack,
Roy and Linda.
One ambitious
young fella
lied about his
age so he could
work at Holmes
Hardware. The
student
employees
learned many
things from the
Holmes'.
Calculators and
scanners to
ring up
sales...NO!
Pencil and
paper and your
ability to add
and subtract
were what you
needed. When
not helping
customers,
dusting the
shelves and the
merchandise was
part of your
day. It seemed
when you
finished the
last shelf, it
was time to
start at the
beginning. A
lot of life's
lessons were
learned there,
an honest day's
work, find
things to do
and keep busy,
helpful to
customers and
be honest with
customers and
employees.
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What is it with men and
hardware? They often
think a woman knows
nothing about the
product she works with.
Several times men would
come in looking for a
certain type of nail, a
gasket, a fitting...and
ask for a man to help
him find things, more
often than not, the man
had to ask Harriett or
Carolyn or Hazel to help
them both!
One
customer had a light
fixture and had been
everywhere looking for a
part. He was told by a
friend "if you find the
part. It will be at
Holmes' Hardware. Dwight
had a box with spare
parts for lots of
things..Viola! He
replaced the part and
the customer left happy.
After
television became
popular, the Holmes gave
up sales and just
repaired them. Harriett
became very efficient at
replacing the tubes. Bus
and Paul Renderle were
experts at going on the
roof and setting up the
antenna. No matter how
tailor steep, no problem
for those two!
Dwight
died in 1992 and
Harriett sold the store
in 1994, after 55 years
in the hardware
business. The bolt racks
are at Westside Carry
out. Harriett wishes she
could get around better,
she would have a little
hardware store. She
still has plenty of
bolts, screws and tools.
We always need something
from the hardware store.
Harriett
was and still is an avid
Reds fan and loves UC
basketball. She was a
Red's season ticket
holder for many years.
Photo
taken in 1995 at Holmes
Hardware located at 70
N. Howard
St.
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