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vacuum cleaners, electric sewing machines, air conditioners, or electric iron—no electricity.
People used1 kerosene oil lamps or lanterns. It took a lot of hard work to do even the little
jobs back then.

Sister Lee had more than her share of hard work. She was a wonderful cook. I think
she and Ma were two of the best cooks in the whole wide world. Sister Lee was also a good
seamstress. One thing she couldn’t do—which frustrated her—was to hurry. No matter how
important it was to get the job done, she just couldn’t hurry. She was the sweetest, kindest,

“do-no-harm” person I’ve ever known.
B.C. completely lost his eyesight several years before he died. Sister Lee had what is
now called “hardening of the arteries.” They both were completely disabled for a long time

before their death. They died just a week apart; he followed her.

Streety’s Hardware store, located at the other end of the block next to Young’s
Hardware, belonged to J.D. Streety. Mr. Streety had reached the age to where he could no
longer carry on so he put his store up for sale. Eric decided if he could get someone to go in

with him, he would borrow money from the bank, leave Young’s Hardware and buy Streety
Hardware.
Eric talked to Wafford Lindler who ran the Express Company. Wafford told him that
he would go in with him on purchasing the store. He said that he had short hours at the

Express Company and could work in the store by the middle of the afternoon on weekdays
and all day on Saturday. Eric went to Mr. Max Brown, president of the State Exchange
Bank, and he let Eric and Wafford borrow the money to buy the store. We didn’t have much

money; what we did have wasn’t paid for. We had our old' Ford paid for but we were still
paying on our house.
We named the store at 301 North Marion Street the “People’s Hardware.” Eric and

Woffard got a topnotch salesman from Belknap Hardware in Louisville, Kentucky, to come
to Lake City to help them make out an opening stock order for the store. This salesman
stayed and helped them get everything planned. He arranged for the order to come two or
three weeks before opening date. He helped them price every item and put the cost mark and

selling price on every item.
They worked every night for several months. Many nights I cooked a big meal and
took it down to the store for them at midnight. This salesman loved fried chicken. I didn’t

mind frying chicken and chicken didn’t cost very much—no groceries cost much back then. I

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