The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, May 13, 1938, Image 7
THE SUN, NEWBERRY, S. C- FRIDAY. MAY 13, 1938
Connecticut Yankee Established
America's First Hardware Store
Celebration of National Hardware Week Recalls Story of Amasa Goodyear and His
Son, Who Later Won Fame as an Inventor but Who Was a Failure in the Business
Today Carried on Successfully by Nearly 37,000 Retailers Throughout the United States.
© Western Newspaper Union.
By
ELMO SCOTT WATSON
B ACK in 1807 a Connecti
cut Yankee named
Amasa Goodyear made
the first pearl buttons ever
produced in this country and
a little later branched out in
to the manufacture of other
kinds. His business grew so
rapidly that by 1812 he was
supplying the United States
government with ail the
metal buttons used on the
uniforms of its soldiers in
our second war with Eng
land. From buttons Amasa
Goodyear’s Yankee ingenuity
led him into other fields of
invention and he patented a
number of articles, the most
important being a hayfork.
Goodyear’s next venture
was in a new field—that of
retailing the articles which
he manufactured and in 1827
he opened up in Church alley
in the little village of Salem,
near Waterbury, Conn., a
small store which is believed
to be the first hardware store
in the United States. Today
in this country there are
nearly 37,000 hardware stores
who trace their “ancestry”
back to that little shop in
Church alley in Salem village
and as they join in the an
nual celebration of National
Hardware Week, which is
being observed from May 9
to 14, it is interesting to trace
the development through the
last 111 years of this branch
of American business.
It would be pleasant to record
that the pioneer hardware store
owner of this country was out
standingly successful in his ven
ture. But, unfortunately, just the
opposite is true. For Amasa
Goodyear placed the store in
charge of his son, Charles, and
although history has written this
son down as one of its great in
ventors—for he was the Charles
Goodyear of India rubber fame—
apparently he was not a good
business man. At least, it is re
corded that the pioneer hardware
stores failed because of Charles
Goodyear’s speculations in real
estate and in January, 1831, it
passed into the possession of Cur
tis and Hand who were prominent
in developing retail hardware
stores as outlets for various arti
cles of domestic manufacture.
The story of Amasa Goodyear’s
pioneer venture is an interesting
chapter in American economic
history. In the colonial days all
supplies were brought from Eu
rope. But as this country be
came more settled and the Eng
lish colonies became better es-
iiiiiifil
This is the typical hardware store of yesteryear with its dark, oily floors,
poor lighting, crowded and poorly arranged stock, much of it under glass where
the customers are nnable to inspect it closely.
facture not only to secure reve
nue by taxation but also for pro
tection for British manufactur
ers. Besides taxing sugar, tea
and other necessities consumed
by her colonies, England also
tried to prohibit them from man
ufacturing any commodity which
was or could be made in the
Mother Country.
Depending upon her colonies
for raw materials, she required
that these materials and the fin
ished products be carried in
British-built ships, manned by
British subjects and that all ex
ports and imports of the colo
nies be shipped through England
where a tax was levied. Thus it
will be seen how the develop
ment of manufacture in the col
onies was retarded and why the
American Revolution was quite
as much an economic as a politi
cal rebellion.
With the establishment of
American independence, howev
er, restrictions upon American
inventive genius and expansion
were removed. Small home man-
Here is a modern hardware store, rearranged and designed by hardware
association experts. It has plenty of i'ght, a systematic arrangement of its
merchandise, most of which is ont where people can “heft it” before baying.
tablished as governmental units,
trades were set up to do specific
work or make specific commodi
ties.
The Village Blacksmith
The village blacksmith was the
foundation of the American man
ufacture of hardware. He made
the bars and hinges for doors
and the early, crude implements
for agriculture. With the finding
of coal and other minerals in
great abundance, manufacture of
various items of hardware began
on a small scale which became
increasingly larger as the years
passed.
Before long the Mother Coun
try was beginning to look upon
this development with an un-
friandly eye and she began im
posing restrictions upon manu-
ufacturers grew up to supply the
local demand but for years by
far the greatest part of the man
ufactured goods was still import
ed from Europe. Despite the fact
that the restrictions upon colonial
manufacture had been a factor in
bringing about the Revolution,
early American manufacturers
had little encouragement from
the majority of American people
who still favored foreign-made
goods. Nor was this discrimina
tion of short duration. In fact,
it lasted almost until the Civil
war.
When the Berlin and Milan de
crees ot Napoleon and the re
taliation of the British “Orders
of Council” placed a blockade
around Europe and reduced neu
tral shipping to almost nothing.
they forced a new problem upon
American manufacturers. Since
no goods could be imported from
Europe, domestic manufacturers
were called upon to meet de
mands with which they could not
cope with the machines and proc
esses then available.
Industrial Revolution
This marked the advent of the
American “industrial revolution”
in 1808, which eventually carried
the new nation from a negative
position to the world’s greatest
manufacturing nation and which
changed the United States from
a purely agricultural to a manu
facturing country. As new ma
chines were invented, new proc
esses worked out and new pro
duction methods brought into ac
tion, American manufacturing
assumed a real magnitude and
spread rapidly throughout New
England, New York and Pennsyl
vania.
Coincidentally with the growth
of manufacture came the neces
sity for retail outlets for the man
ufactured products and this
brought into existence hardware
stores along with other kinds of
retail establishments. Although
Amasa Goodyear has the distinc
tion of being the first to operate
a hardware store, he was soon
followed by others. One of these
was Christopher Hubber (later
Casey and Hubber), who started
in New York. He was followed
by George H. Gray & Co. in 1829
and Hesner & Green in Boston.
The articles offered for sale,
even by the largest dealers, were
limited in number and variety.
Among the small articles were
Goodyear’s molasses gates,
Fenn’s cockstop and leather fau
cets, cast bits and screws (not
very salable), nails, shoe and side
strap hammers, wooden awl han
dles, mill, circular and hand
saws, Britannia wares, carpen
ters’ planes, manure and hay
forks, shovels and scythes.
All these had not come into use
in 1828 or 1830, but American
hardware sold by dealers in 1834
included wire screws, coffee
mills, andirons, cow bells,
scythes, pewter faucets, clothes
lines, window cords, hemp and
manila rope, brushes, paints,
guns, axes, tacks and brads, locks
and latches, hammers and hatch
ets, glass door knobs, auger bits,
lead pencils and buttons.
A Great Variety
At the beginning of the Nine
teenth century, "hardware”
chiefly meant mechanics’ tools
and builders’ hardware, whereas
today it includes so vast a va
riety of goods as to make it dififi-
cul* to enumerate them. Com
prising, as it does, all small arti
cles made of metal that are pat
ented and used in construction of
houses or for household purposes,
as well as tools of mechanics’
trades and professional men, it
simplifies labor, it economizes
the time of the housewife, it cov
ers all that could be classed as
house-furnishing goods for kitch
en and dining room service, the
product of the tin shop and of
stamped ware manufacturers, as
well as tin plate, sheet iron, fence
wire, etc.
It has within its range also
sporting goods, such as guns, ri
fles, ammunition, baseball; in
fact, goods for all outdoor sports.
The recent wave of manufacture
of electrical household appliances
finds its most efficient distribu
tion through hardware channels,
and manufacturers of paints, var
nishes and agricultural imple
ments, with sundry affiliated
lines, look to the hardware fra
ternity as the best means of
reaching the consumer. It is not
uncommon for a large hardware
house to have in its catalogue
nearly 50,000 kinds and sizes of
articles.
An interesting glimpse of the
old-fashioned hardware store is
given by D. Fletcher Barber of
Boston, former president of the
National Retail Hardware asso
ciation in these reminiscences:
"As I look back over 50 years
in the hardware business, I can
see many changes, but it is diffi
cult to summarize what has tak
en place during this period. A
half or even a quarter of a cen
tury ago stocks were very sim
ple in amount of merchandise
and limited as to selection. Store
equipment was poor and inade
quate and while fitted to the lim
ited needs of those days, would,
be totally unsuited for today’s
requirements. Display of hard
ware was not given much con
sideration, and was so little
thought of that shutters were put
in nearly all stores at night and
over Sunday. Windows were gen
erally made up of small panes
of glass and in most cases not a
plate glass. Windows were not
dressed more often than once a
month.
“The hardware stores in the
cities of New England did not
sell stoves and kitchenware, al
though the country and suburban
town stores did. Stoves were
given a prominent place, often
reaching to the front door.
“The city stores imported
many of their tools, and the saws
that were sold were those manu
factured by Spear & Jackson or
Groves & Sons. We sold a great
many files, also planes, bit
braces, carving tools and other
fine tools. Cutlery of the better
kind was nearly all English made
and we can remember the old
Jonathan Crooks knives which
most boys thought the best made.
Razors were nearly all English
made, as the German products
were sold only as very low priced
goods. Table knives were for
the most part sold with the fork
handle to match the knife han
dle, and there was a great va
riety of handles and bolsters,
which was the finish of the cov
ering over the ends of the han
dles. The better kinds had real
ivory handles and some were sol
id silver plated knives, very ex
pensive as compared with the
present day prices. Plated ware
began with a base of brass or
inferior metal, which was changed
later to nickel or combination of
metal which more nearly resem
bled silver service.
“The shelving showed what
would today be considered a very
poor appearance, since not many
boxes were used. Goods were put
up in packages of brown paper,
with green labels, and, when
opened, had to be tied up, gener
ally in a very loose and slipshod
manner. I know one of the first
things I had to learn was to tie
samples on the front of a pack
age so that they would stay in
shape and not fall out.
“The manifest object, of
course, was to show what was in
the package, and a good deal of
time was spent in tying up these
packages and putting them back
on the shelf in an orderly man
ner, which was known to the boys
of the store, at least, as “clear
ing up.” Generally the goods
were left on the counter or
around and there had to be a
real session of “clearing up” at
certain times.
"Files were one of the hard
things to keep in shape, as the
samples had to be tied ‘fore and
aft’ and shown on the shelves
broadside to. Most of the pres
ent day clerks would find it a
rather difficult job to tie on a
four-inch japanned side pulley on
a package of a half dozen or
dozen and have it stay in shape.
To some extent, after a number
of years, wooden boxes were
used and, in general, these were
covered by pasting green paper
over the front and the samples
screwed to the front of the box.
This was a big improvement over
the old method, and some thought
the height of perfection had been
reached when most of the front
stores showed good clean paper
fronts.
“The effort to display cutlery
in show cases has been, and is
to some extent even now, depend
ent largely upon the experience
of the dealer and his disposition
toward fine display. They used
to be tied upon packages or boxes.
Sometimes boxes were made
which would hold a full package,
having a recessed top for the
sample, and sometimes they
were fastened to the top by
means of clips or strings. Oth
er times a sail needle was used
with hard twine. In fact, this
method with copper wire was
used mainly for sampling on
shelf boxes.”
WHAT TO EAT
and WHY ★ ★ ★
^ 4]Olllton CfOuJ.151 Noted Food
* Authority
Describes the ACID- and ALKALINE-
ASH FOODS and Explains Their
Role in Maintaining the ACID-BASE
BALANCE of the Body 'fa ^
By C. HOUSTON GOUDISS
, • East 8#th Street, New Xerk Citr.
A CIDITY is the topic of the hour. On every side we hear
> people complaining that they have too much acid in their
systems, that they suffer from acid stomach, acid headaches,
acid mouth, acidosis. In fact, most adults fancy themselves
victims of a great battle between acid and alkaline forces,
with the acid having the bet- <$
ter of it.
They confuse gastric acidity
—which is entirely normal,
for the healthy stomach is al
ways strongly acid—with the
potential acidity of foods
which leave an acid residue fol
lowing digestion. And many of
them are convinced that they
should take drastic steps to over
come the danger of acidosis.
—★—
The Vogue oi Acidosis
There are fashions in disease,
just as in dress, home furnishings
. and automobiles.
Ten years ago, we
heard much about
the evils of auto
intoxication, and it
was some time be
fore people realized
that they had been
misled by the ex
treme claims of
those who had
some sort of rem
edy to sell. And
now it is acidosis that is the most
talked of complaint. Friends cau
tion one another against this or
that food, with the mistaken idea
that it causes or aggravates an
acid condition. Food faddists have
frightened thousands by suggest
ing that acidosis is brought about
by mixing various kinds of foods.
—★—
Health Endangered
Indeed, we have come to a point
where the fear of a so-called acid
condition is assuming proportions
which indicate the possibility of
real trouble unless the American
people get the true facts and put
aside these foolish delusions.
Physiologists believe that fear
and worry have a detrimental ef
fect on digestion, and, in turn, on
the general health. Thus eating
meals in constant fear of acidity
may upset the digestion and bring
about the very symptoms that you
are trying to avoid. One well-
known authority contends that
perhaps 90 per cent of digestive
distress, attributed to the kind or
combinations of food eaten, is ac
tually due to unfavorable mental
or emotional states, and other
causes such as over-eating, even
when fatigued, or consuming at
one meal too many foods that are
difficult to digest. It, therefore,
becomes apparent that thousands
of people are contributing to their
own discomfort as a result of fear,
ignorance, or a blind belief in mis
leading claims which are opposed
to scientific facts.
Acidosis Uncommon
The danger is not from acidosis,
but from the fear of this bugbear,
and from self medication in the be
lief that certain remedies are re
quired to overcome a fancied con-
H0USEH0LD
QUESTIONS
Send for This
FREE CHART
Showing Which Foods Are
Acid and Which Alkaline
I k NE of the principles in planning
v r a balanced diet is to include at
least enough alkaline, or base-form
ing foods, to balance the acid-form,
ing foods.
To help you distinguish the foods
that belong in each group, C. Hous
ton Goudiss offers to send a free
chart listing the principal acid-ash
and alkaline-ash foods. Address C.
Houston Goudiss, 6 East 39th St.,
New York City.
Boil Canned Fruit.—Tinned fruit
is greatly improved in flavor if
turned out into a saucepan and
boiled for one minute.
• • •
Cleaning the Tub.—A badly-
stained enamel bath can be
cleaned by being rubbed all over
with a cdt lemon. Leave for a
short while and then clean in the
ordinary way.
• • *
To Peel Oranges Quickly.—Put
them in boiling water for five min
utes or so. This will also make
them juicier.
* * *
Proper Heat for Cake.—Angel
food cake is apt to be tough if
the oven is too hot; 250 degrees
Fahrenheit is the proper tempera
ture.
• • •
One Creamed Dish.—In selecting
a soup for a meal remember that
creamed soups should not be
served when there are creamed
vegetables or creamed fish to fol
low.
* * *
When Baking Apples, Etc.—Use
muffin tins for baking apples,
onions, stuffed peppers, etc. They
will keep their shape much better.
• • •
Salt for Lard Shortening.—
Many cooks add a small amount
of salt when using lard for short
ening in pastry and pies. This
insures better results and flavor.
Hove You a Question?
Ask C. Houston Goudiss
C. Houston Goudiss has put at
the disposal of readers of this news
paper all the facilities of his famous
Experimental Kitchen Laboratory in
New York City. He will gladly
answer questions concerning foods,
diet, nutrition, and their relation to
health. You are also invited to con
sult him in matters of personal
hygiene. It’s not necessary to write
a letter unless you desire, for post
card inquiries will receive the same
careful attention. Address him at 6
East 39th Street, New York City.
dition. For in spite of the large
amount of acid produced in me
tabolism, the blood normally re
mains remarkably constant and
slightly alkaline, due to a highly
efficient buffer system.
Perhaps you wonder, if this is
so, why doctors and dietitians talk
so much about the acid-base bal
ance.
——
The Acid-Base Balance
To understand this phrase, you
must know that every food leaves
an ash when burned in the body,
just as ashes remain when coal or
wood is burned in a furnace. In
the body, the ash consists of valu
able minerals which are required
in large amounts to maintain op
timal health.
Some foods, such as meat, fish,
eggs and cereals, leave an acid
ash because the predominating
minerals are phosphorus, chlor
ine and sulphur. Other foods,
chiefly milk and most fruits and
vegetables, leave an alkaline ash
because the remaining minerals
are principally calcium, magne
sium, potassium and sodium.
These are the base-forming foods.
Besides the alkaline ash and
acid ash foods, there is a group of
foods, including sugar, cornstarch
and purified fats, which are so
highly refined that no minerals
remain after they are burned; and
some other foods, such as butter
and cream, leave a balance of the
two types of ash. These are known
as neutral foods.
—★—
Cannot Trust Your Tongue
The sense of taste cannot be re
lied upon as a guide in determin
ing which foods are acid and
which alkaline. For example, ce
reals, which are bland to the
taste, have an acid reaction fol
lowing digestion. Bread, likewise,
is acid forming, although you
would not suspect that fact from
its taste. On the other hand, po
tatoes, though somewhat similar
to bread in flavor and food value,
are one of our most valuable alka-»
line foods, and dried lima beans
are the most highly alkaline of
any food known.
If it seems curious that such
bland foods should have an acid
ash, you may find it even harder
to believe that oranges, lemons,
grapefruit, peaches and tomatoes,
which taste acid in the mouth,
leave an alkaline ash following
digestion. But the fact is that the
body performs a clever bit of
chemical engineering and the final
effect on the blood is alkaline.
—★—
Homemaker's Responsibility
A balanced diet must include
sufficient base-forming foods to
neutralise and counter-balance
the effects of the acids formed In
metabolism.
That is one reason why it is so
important for the homemaker to
provide her family with plenty of
milk, fruits and vegetables, in ad
dition to the necessary meat, fish,
eggs and cereals.
In general, one is likely to feel
better when base-forming foods
predominate, at least slightly, in
the diet over acid-forming foods.
Some authorities believe that this
may be duo not so much to their
effect on the acid-base balance as
to the fact that they provide such
splendid amounts of vitamins,
minerals and fiber.
However, one must not make
the mistake of becoming so enthu
siastic over building a highly al
kaline diet that one overlooks good
foods necessary to round out a
balanced diet.
To those homemakers who take
seriously the important job of
feeding a family, and wish to be
correctly informed, I shall gladly
send a chart showing which foods
are alkaline and which acid. It
can be used as a helpful guide in
planning a balanced diet.
Send for this chart and increa
your food- knowledge. In the
meantime, don’t under any cir
cumstances allow misguided indi
viduals to frighten you into join
ing the vast army of acid-minded
people who are so concerned over
the possibilities of acidosis that
they haven’t time to enjoy life.
Mrs. S. T. R.—No, egg whites
most certainly are not toxic, ex
cept to people who have an al
lergy toward this food. For all
normal individuals, they offer ah
excellent source of protein.
Mrs. R. McK.—Generally speak
ing, the ideal weight for men and
women over thirty is their nor
mal weight at the age of thirty.
From that time on, the scales
should be watched, and the food
intake reduced as soon as a gain
is noticed. When maturity is
reached, food is no longer re
quired to support growth, and un
less muscular activity is main
tained at a high level, the total
energy requirement will gradual
ly decline.
Miss M. V.—Indeed I am not
against the eating of fried foods,
except in abnormal conditions
where, for some reason, the fat in
take must be restricted. The mod
erate use of fried foods, which
have been properly cooked, makes
the diet palatable and interesting.
e WNU—C. Houston Goudiss—1938—10
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