We recently went to Mizell Lumber & Hardware in Kensington because we needed to buy some doors and they had given us a very reasonable price quote. Mizell is one of those old-timey hardware stores that has all kinds of things no one else carries. It looks like it could be about 100 years old.
I remember when I was a kid I would sometimes get to go there with my Dad back when we lived in Kensington. I really liked being there because it was right next to the train tracks, nearly directly across from the Kensington station. Anytime I got near train tracks I would daydream about jumping on the train and going off by myself to who knows where. I don't know why, but this was a recurring fantasy during my childhood. I loved hearing the sound of the train at night. There used to be a wooden bridge that went over the tracks off of Howard Avenue. It was rickety and felt dangerous but I just loved the feeling of going over that bridge.So as a grownup going back to Mizell, I enjoyed remembering my little childhood fantasies (which I sometimes still have) but it was also a good experience for a grown up (I think!?) consumer. The salespeople there are knowledgeable and very helpful. They aren't snotty and rude and/or dumb the way they are at some hardware stores. I got some very useful information about thresholds there.
This lovely formica display made me start thinking about how much less expensive our countertops could have been, and they would still be very pretty. But it's too late now.
They sell nails by the pound!
Their shelves are stocked full of all kinds of cool stuff. If you are ever in Kensington, be sure to check out Mizell Lumber & Hardware.
7 comments:
I love hardware stores like that. They inspire me to build or fix or change something, even though I'm not the slightest bit handy.
When I lived closer in I could hear the trains in the night if I was awake. The tracks were far enough away that if I were asleep the train didn't wake me, but if I was awake I could just hear the clacking. It was one of my favorite things about living in that house and one of the things I miss most about it.
Kristin - I'm much more into hardware stores now than I ever used to be. Especially the ones that have wooden floors.
Tom - Yeah, there's just something magical about the sound of a train in the night. For me the train represented an opportunity to escape to a different place and time and that seemed like a path to independence.
There's nothing better than an old-fashioned hardware store where people know what they are selling and what to do with it.
I always wondered what it would feel like to be a hobo and ride the rails. Steve Goodman's City of New Orleans perpetuated my fantasy.
I liked that song too. It made me want to go somewhere, anywhere, as soon as possible.
I'm catching up! Mizell's brought back memories for me, too -- my mom used to play bridge with Mrs. Mizell!
Mrs. Mizell! That's pretty cool!
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