They wed and eventually returned to this area, where Jim had grown up in Stacy. He was working at an inn at Mondovi, Wisconsin providing maintenance, part time, while still on a nearby military base, when he met Donna who would soon go into teaching. Jim credits his experience in the Air Force for his mechanical passion/skill. Stacy Hardware Store is ‘go-to’ for any piece of equipment and if the store can’t get hold of what you need, it probably can repair the problem or fashion something similar. Well before the Internet Stacy Hardware had customers ordering from Canada to New Mexico. Jim explains that the store moves A LOT of motorsports related goods. (BTW, Jerry you are expected at the open house.) A faded image shows a man named Jerry Schroeder astride the first ATV the store sold over 30 years ago. As the reporter scribbles in a notebook Donna periodically hands over Polaroid photos, snatched off the store bulletin board, visual proof of various milestones. Jim takes the only other chair in the office while Donna keeps an eye on the floor, chatting with people who come in. The “perfect fit” came along in Nick Simpson.Įverybody is welcome to get to know Nick when he succeeds the Keachers, officially, at the Open House Farewell September 9, from 11 a.m. So, upon deciding to sell, they set their sights on finding just the right individual to takeover their lifetime venture. There have been health issues and big decisions to handle and “The last year and half we couldn’t have done it without the people who work here,” Donna stressed.Įvery small town should have a hardware store, explains co-owners Jim and Donna Keacher. A welder, who started “hanging around the store at 15,” he recalls his first workday involved putting bicycles together, and then he moved up to right hand man.ĭonna said the final chapter of their business life was made bearable because of the employees. Store Manager Doug Miller is equally as epic as the 52-year old one-ownerbusiness is. What you see as a customer is about half of what Stacy Hardware exists on, as there’s a similar-sized backstage to complement the public face of this terrific ode to Americana. Riding mower, snowmobile on the fritz? Come here. Need a plow mount for your four-wheeler- order it here. And the obligatory trophy walleye mount guards the door.Īt the end of the central walkway is what could be the church sanctuary area, the service desk. Dark plywood-covered walls are the backdrop for multiple plaques recognizing the store’s sales records for Stihl, Snapper, Polaris, Husqvarna and other brands. So efficiently-sized it requires a visitor to turn sideways to seat themself at the one desk. A small office space, off to your left, is where timecards were tabulated, orders finalized and the day’s deposits created. Anyone with an imagination would be forgiven for describing the interior of Stacy Do It Best Hardware Store as giving off a church vibe with its hypnotically long center aisle leading past a symmetrical, but mind-boggling, display of merchandize.
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