comicsssfan: We had a store like that, no big box either. You could go in with a bolt and say “I need a nut and lock washer to fit that.” They would open a couple of drawers, test to make sure they fit, and charge you a nickle. School children actually visited the place as a museum. It’s gone now; the owners wanted to retire after the store’s centennial and no one wanted to take over – too much to learn.
comicsssfan: We had a store like that, no big box either. You could go in with a bolt and say “I need a nut and lock washer to fit that.” They would open a couple of drawers, test to make sure they fit, and charge you a nickle. School children actually visited the place as a museum. It’s gone now; the owners wanted to retire after the store’s centennial and no one wanted to take over – too much to learn.