Readers Respond
Getting the lead out
(The letter refers to “California to switch to lead-free plumbing,” regarding a law to prohibit sale of any lead-containing pipes, fixtures and fittings.)
“As an independent hardware store owner, I must say this is a law that will hurt many small businesses like myself.… We have years of inventory built up in our stores, and to render it [not saleable] on Jan. 1 will hurt us badly. The state has already admitted it has no way to police this law. So, who will? The lawyers will compile lists of law-breakers for the attorney general. If I can use my loss as a tax deduction on my state taxes, that might lessen the sting a little. Do you think they will help us out? No!”—Steve Christensen, Manor True Value Hardware, Bishop, Calif.
Memories of Rickel Brothers
(HCN received several letters in response to a newsletter item about the great home center chains that are no longer with us.)
“The problem with memories is that you prove how old you have become. I remember when if you were a 30,000-sq.-ft. box, then you were the big guy in the business. It didn’t matter if you were East Coast—Channel, Rickels, Grossman’s or even Pergament as you went down the east coast to Florida. Then there were the West Coast chains—Builders Emporium, Handyman, Handy Dan, National Lumber and Pay ‘n Pak. In those days there seemed to be enough business for everyone to overlap, yet find a way of doing profitable business in their regions. How many of you remember the ‘Home Center Council’ that was attended by CEOs and presidents in New York City?
“The best part of memories is all the great people and many ‘real characters’ that grew up in the ‘home center industry’ from both the store side and supplier side. Many of those stories should never be repeated!
“I have gone on too long already (that happens when you get old), but if anyone reads this, thanks to all those who built and grew up in the industry we call home centers. Our history is relatively short compared with all retail, but it has been exciting, and I thank all those that I had the honor of knowing and working with over the many years. Keep up the great work.” —Marty Bocola(The author is a 30-year home center executive and co-founder of Paint Factory. He now runs an auto Web site,
“I can remember as a youngster going with my father to the local Grossman’s lumberyard. The smell of pine sawdust still brings me back to those days, when the orange-and-white-striped storefront would beckon us in for that week’s supply of lumber.
“Dad redid the entire basement of the house I grew up in, studding up walls, adding insulation, drywall and paneling, and even hanging interior doors. Of course, back in those days, they were the pre-hung luan doors that nobody buys anymore. Eventually he added a wet bar, and decked the whole place out with z-brick and cedar shakes to hide the foundation.
“Looking back just now, I’m just realizing how much an influence those experiences were in my chosen career field!”—Chris Kling, New Bern Building Supply
“Growing up in Miami and still residing in Florida, I have fond memories all the way back to the ‘50s and ‘60s, with the lumberyard chain RBC Lumber (merger of Renuart, Bailey Lumber and Cheely Lumber), then of course Lindsley Lumber. And my personal favorite is when Service Merchandise decided to get into the big-box home center business and acquired the HomeOwners Warehouse chain back in the ‘80s, then renamed it Mr. How—complete with an in-store expert by the same name who provided DIY advice.”—Edward Binai, President, Millennium Sourcing Group
Cash for Caulkers
“Leave it to this administration to come up with ever more ways to waste the taxpayer’s money. This idea, along with its costly and wasteful cousin Cash for Clunkers, will do little to eliminate pollution or spark the economy. The usual big government play [President Obama] only spends more money we do not have. If he was truly interested in improving the economy, he would cut income taxes, consider a suspension of payroll taxes, reduce spending, drop the trillion-dollar healthcare reform issue, along with cap-and-trade and, lastly, get out of the way of the small business person and let the free market heal itself.”—Merritt Huber, President, Carolina Lumber & Supply Co., Atlanta