Re: “Pope's Hardware--a Chatham institution at risk”

Mr. Pope is wonderful man and extremely helpful. We have a saying at work that you can't get a job done unless you make 3 trips to Pope's. I've visited the new ACE Hardware up the road with the sales people wearing blue tooth ear phones -- the lighting is nice and the floors are all shiny. When I have patience I go to Pope's. Some of his service staff don't have the same touch as Mr. Pope. When I'm in a hurry and can't sort through Pope's dark shelves and limited inventory, I head to Ace. A visit to Pope's is like a visit back home. A visit to Lowe's is like a visit to everything but nothing. A visit to Ace Hardware is like being seen at a satellite health clinic where you get the essentials but you aren't sure anyone cares. You think we could clone Mr. Pope and put him in Lowe's?