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| Courtesy Lorain Historical Society |
Mention Andy's Hardware to someone who grew up in Lorain in the era from the 1950s to the 1980s, and they're sure to smile at the memories that it conjures up. Who didn't go in there at some point, seeking some hard-to-find-item and it turned out that, sure enough, Andy had it?
I was one of those that for some time thought that 'Andy' was his first name. But it turns out that his real name was Edward Andy.
While looking through old Lorain Journals from August 1956, I found what I thought for sure was the Grand Opening ad for his store. But further digging revealed that there was another Grand Opening ad from earlier that year. And another Grand Opening ad a year later when he apparently did some remodeling.
Here then are an ample sample of 1950s store ads, beginning with what I believe is the first one.
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| Feb. 29, 1956 |
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| June 27, 1956 |
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| August 8, 1956 |
With two different Grand Opening dates in 1956, it's not surprising that the Anniversary Sale in 1957 would be held in a different month than either of them.
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| May 7, 1957 |
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| July 4, 1957 |
The store closed in the early 1990s and the building was eventually demolished. It was like losing an old friend.
Andy's Hardware, Willow Hardware, Whalen Drug, Selenti's Pizza, DiSimones, Steve's Shoe Repair... all fading Oberlin Avenue memories for those of us who grew in Lorain in the 1960s and 70s.
In PA-Tucky, we had a similar place, Raltson's. Dad always had two things to say about it:
ReplyDeleteA. If they don't have it, you don't need it.
B. They have everything in the world, if they can find it.
Last time I was there, a couple years ago, they were still selling flashcubes!
In my entire life I was maybe in Andy's three times, tops.
ReplyDeleteThat's not the point.
Andy's was one of those places that said, "Lorain", like the "V", Lakeview, Meyer Goldberg, George Daniel, signposts that marked the home of the sons and daughters of the Black River. I would pass it, as we all did, and feel that little something that said, "home".
I don't think you can get the same thing from a food truck or an edgy tattoo parlor.
Andy’s was a classic , old fashioned hardware store. Narrow aisles crammed full of all sorts of stuff with a whiff of lumber, paint & nails in the air.
ReplyDeleteI was in Andy's maybe a few times with my dad.I remember one time my dad took me with him there to get some window screen material l to repair a screen in a window and Andy cut some off a roll.
ReplyDeleteI’m a retired ff and did the annual fire inspection several times. I got to know him a little bit. Nice man. I’ll tell you if what you were looking for wasn’t in the open,it was in the attic,back room, or basement. He literally had everything and knew where it was.
ReplyDeleteWe lived around the corner on the other side of Oberlin Ave, and frequented Andy's a lot with my dad in the 70's and 80's. There was something about that store that I just loved... the nostalgia, all the hardware bins, even the smell! My dad, along with Andy's, attributed to my love of DIY'ing!
ReplyDeleteI have a yardstick from Andy's hardware still
ReplyDelete