Clearing out some old clutter, a bottle labeled “Alcohol, Edward J. Rice, Hardware – Paints – Wall Paper, 79 Broadway, Newburgh, N.Y. Phone 1630” was discovered. I did open the cap and wafted the bottle. The contents appeared to still be quite potent! No, I didn’t imbibe any! Love using words like these, though!

Satisfied the liquid was indeed what was on the label, I now had to learn more about the seller. Who was Edward J. Rice? When did his hardware store grace the city of Newburgh? Where was his hardware store?

Edward’s hardware store was originally at 69 Colden Street, before relocating to 79 Broadway, in the City of Newburgh, in the Van Cleft Building, which was erected in 1893 (Don’t you just love Google Earth for these photos?). I couldn’t determine the exact year this move was made.

Edward J. Rice and his wife, Claire, lived a short distance from the store, at 2 Farrell Street, which is roughly a mile’s walk, which may have been Edward’s choice during good weather. The business was founded about 1927. Imagine what it must have been like to stroll down Broadway back then, or take the trolley? Somehow, I believe things were a bit slower than they are today, and people greeted one another on the journey, trading news, and gossip, in a much more relaxed manner than present times.

These were the days before the huge stores of this era squeezed out the smaller businesses like Algonquin Supply. You could walk into these family owned and operated venues where they knew your name and get first hand, first rate advice to guide you on products and methods to achieve the best outcome on your project.

Perusing the newspaper archives (if you’ve never explored archives of the local newspapers such as the Newburgh News, or the Evening News, you should), the Edward J. Rice Hardware Store, proudly offered instructional demonstrations of their products in their advertisements.

Stores like this, and owners like this, were community minded and treated their employees like family. This is clearly demonstrated in one of the ads from 1961, which announced the store would be closed on December 30th. Quite a bit removed from today’s environment were stores are opened seven days a week, some even open 24 hours around the clock. And, most retail establishments back then shuttered their doors at 1 p.m. on Saturdays!

I didn’t find the year Edward J. Rice Hardware was last open, but I imagine it was into the mid 1960s, which coincides with the birth of shopping centers and shopping malls. I just wanted folks to remember a simpler time, a time where stores actually interacted with their customers, almost like family, and demonstrated their wares and were knowledgeable about what they were selling.

Thanks, Ed! We, miss you!