Vince Staten - I’ve never thought too much about the origins of that particular species, but I don’t use a monkey wrench as much as some of the other tools in the chest, so perhaps I just never had much occassion to think about it. On the other hand, I have wondered about Portland Cement, mostly because my great grandfather was said to have sold quite a bit of it in his day, and with family ties to Maine, I always wondered if Portland had anything to do with the name. It doesn’t but that’s all I will tell you. Despite the emergence of the “big-Box” home centers, there still thrives within this land the fiercely independent hardware store.
This book is about the items they sell, the people they serve, and how the two come together. It answers questions hardly anybody would ever think to ask, but you’ll be the wiser for knowing. And while you may win a few bets with your buddies by knowing that Black and Decker’s claim to fame was the invention of the pistol grip electric drill in 1914, most of the information is just fun to know. Of course, you may learn where to get the best wheelbarrow seats. 234 pgs. Softcover. 2000.