One Last Look: Walkersville's T.R. Saylor & Company Hardware Store (1903-2015)

T.R. Saylor & Co. (True Value) Hardware, January 2015
(featured in Hood College's "Home" photograph
exhibition in February 2015).

END OF AN ERA: T.R. Saylor & Co.,
"Going Out of Business" (May 29, 2015).

"It ain't just paint."  -Tagline for Martin Paint, a New York-based hardware and paint retailer, which was in business from 1942 to 1996.  Martin Paint was one of the longtime sponsors of The Joe Franklin Show.

END OF AN ERA: At The Matinee shifts gears from the field of classic, cult and contemporary cinema to the local hardware store.  In these times (especially in Frederick County, Maryland)- local hardware stores are virtually obsolete, thanks to the monstrosity of boring "big box" hardware retailers in the Frederick area.

Unfortunately, this year marks the end of an era for a local hardware retailer in the same hometown where my classic film blog originates from.

T.R. Saylor & Company, which has been part of the Walkersville community for over 112 years, is closing its doors for good.  The business was established by Thomas Ralph "T.R." Saylor in 1903.

Throughout the years, not only did it operate as a hardware and paint store- it also operated as a service station, with their noticeable vintage Shell gas pump(which was still on display outside long after the store discontinued selling gasoline, the store's owners removed the vintage gas pump several years ago).  The store was affiliated with American Hardware Supply, which later became ServiStar, which merged with the parent company of True Value Hardware in 1997, making T.R. Saylor & Company part of the True Value network of local and regional hardware retailers.

As one walked into T.R. Saylor & Company, it was much more than a local hardware store. Customers received friendly and knowledgeable service- which is a rarity these days.

SIGN OF THE TIMES: Vintage General Electric (GE)
lighting display rack inside T.R. Saylor & Co.

Not only did Walkersville's local hardware store carry the latest in hardware and garden equipment, they also carried rare items that have been on the shelf for years- including a vintage GE "hot lather" shaving cream dispenser, a Black & Decker electric shoe polisher, along with bulk mint-condition Memorex blank VHS tapes (dating back to the late 1980s, still in its original shrink wrap).  Some items still had vintage "American Hardware" or "Servistar" price stickers.

I first heard about the closing when I received a letter in the mail from the store earlier this months (on the day of final exam for my "Screen Craft" class at Hood), announcing that the store would close for good.   One of several factors was that the current owners wanted to retire, another was the opening of Lowe's at the "Clemson Corner" shopping center in 2011.  In this writer's view, Frederick did not need another grungy, boring and depressing "Lowe's" location (along with the sprawl on Route 26).

Earlier this year, I photographed the storefront of T.R. Saylor & Company, for my Hood College photojournalism class project, in relation to the theme of "home."  My picture was featured in the Hood "home" exhibition, and received positive praise from fellow friends, students, instructors, spectators and art lovers.  I was hoping that my picture in the  exhibition would help bring in more business for the store.

Even though T.R. Saylor & Co. will be no more, the name will be with the now-defunct local hardware stores of the region- including Ingalls Lumber of Middletown (which was associated with American Hardware/Servistar and True Value until its demise) , and May's Hardware in Frederick.

With the demise of T.R. Saylor & Co., Woodsboro's N.Z. Cramer & Son is one of the last locally-owned hardware and lumber retailers in the region.

Farewell to T.R. Saylor & Co.  It won't be the same without a "real" hardware store in the area.

"At The Matinee" Looks back at 2014

1977 advertisement in Boxoffice Magazine
for Washington-area cinema chains, film
laboratories, and distribution branches.

I can't believe that 2014 has been a quick and successful year for my blog, At The Matinee.  It's been a joyful and interesting year, writing about classic/contemporary/cult film, television, music, and technology.

Here are some of the most notable events that happened throughout the year (not only on this blog, but in the area as well):

-My article in the January 2014 edition of The Woodsboro-Walkersville Times (formerly The Woodsboro Times, on the bottom-half of page 15) on the town's movie theater in the Woodsboro Bank building* that operated for nearly forty years.

-Praised by Turner Classic Movies for my article on the network's twentieth anniversary.

-A conversation with Mr. Ron Hutchinson of The Vitaphone Project, and how those weren't Warner Bros. Vitaphone discs on the wall of the Shepherdstown Opera House (it must have been the labels that threw me off, from this News-Post photograph of the theater's office).

-Mentioned in The Digital Bits (in Mr. Bill Hunt's My Two Cents column) on MGM's negligence to restore and preserve the "roadshow" print of The Alamo (1960).  This was published shortly after veteran film preservation expert Robert A. Harris' account of the condition of the film.

-Finally got to see several classics on the big screen in one of the classes that I enjoyed at Hood College, History of American Film. They included the classic Laurel and Hardy short- The Music Box, The Marx Brothers' 1932 comedy classic- Horse Feathers, and Orson Welles' 1941 masterpiece- Citizen Kane.

-Spreading the word about At The Matinee to fellow students and friends at Hood, along with flyers about the blog on the library bulletin board.  Will make new fliers in 2015 (not only on bulletin boards on the Hood campus, but in other area locations with community bulletin boards).

-Helped stop WJLA-TV's constant preemptions of Me-TV's Saturday lineup (including iconic horror host Svengoolie, portrayed by Rich Koz).  This was done with the help of fellow Me-TV viewers in the area.

HOPEFUL WISHES FOR FELLOW FILM BUFFS IN THE NEW YEAR:

-Revival screenings of classic films shouldn't be ignored by Frederick's cinema venues.  Sadly, classic cinema is still under-appreciated in the Frederick area.  As I've said before- classic films should be shown the way they were meant to be seen, on the big screen.  This is why Frederick needs a repertory cinema house (besides The Weinberg Center For The Arts).

-Hood College shouldn't be ignorant of showing classic films on the big screen in their Hodson Auditorium film series (which would be a great way to compliment their "blockbuster film series").  Yet unfortunately, their "Film club" hasn't responded to my message, nor have they set up any club meetings.  Even worse, my application to the college's "Campus Activities Board" (the organization programs the "blockbuster film series") was rejected.  I wonder if I should start a classic film club of my own at Hood...

-MGM should finally come to their senses, and restore the "roadshow" version of The Alamo before it's too late (or at least have someone else restore the film).  There won't be enough time to save it (due to the deteriorating Eastmancolor stock) if MGM is ignorant of the film.

Thanks to all for reading!  Happy New Year to everyone from the author of At The Matinee!

*There will be an update on the movie theater that was in the Woodsboro Bank building in 2015.