What makes living INORONO special? Two Words.....Parks Hardware!
Although the world we live in and the retail world Parks Hardware is thriving in have changed dramatically over time, the fact that you can walk into a Hardware store INORONO, hear the hardwood underfoot creak as the elevation changes, admire the patina on the tin ceilings AND be greeted by people capable of answering your question or providing that special widget you need makes me smile!
Linwood White, Jr. is the proprieter of Parks Hardware on Mill Street INORONO. Lin has been working here in one capacity or another since the mid-70s and although back then he couldn’t then imagine the twists and turns of life that would see him return to his hometown to own and operate the store his dad took over from Mr. Parks in the early 70‘s, there is a contentment on his face and a relaxed, proud glimmer in his eye as he talks at length about what he thinks makes Parks Hardware special.
Did you know, for example, that in 1991 there were 25 Hardware or Paint stores within a 7 mile radius of Parks?
Did you know that Parks carries 35,000 individual items in their 4,000 square foot store?
-Compared to the “big box stores” carry about 40,000 individual items in their 100,000 square foot warehouses?
Lin is very proud of the fact that while he simply cannot compete with the big boxes soley on price on many items, he can provide value on virtually everything in his store. The staff at Parks has over 100 years experience in the Trades or in Hardware Retail. Customers do, in fact, have different expectations when they walk in here and those expectations are what Lin and the crew strive to exceed as they provide answers (the most valuable commodity they have to offer frankly) as well as competitive pricing on good quality, often American-made, products.
At Parks you will find many seasonal items inhabiting the shelves or hanging from the ceiling but what they’re really known for is that which people of my generation would expect from any good hardware store: a comprehensive plumbing department, very good paint and electrical departments and a very complete tool accessory department. There are new items all the time from Fly Rods, locally made Byer Hammocks, US made bean pots, decorative pottery, bird feeders and hats. There are toys and sleds and carving tools along with Case knives, specialty hand tools and cast iron cookware. You can get your screens repaired, have keys made in front of you, buy an incubator for hatching eggs and between catalogues and the internet, Lin has access to over one million SKUs, or individual items.
Parks Hardware proves every day that you don’t have to go to the Mall, you don’t have to go to the big box and, in fact, you don’t have to leave Orono to get a good deal.
Having a store like Park’s Hardware INORONO helps to anchor our own tax base, to give residents a reason to go and linger downtown and if you do you’ll see that it is more than a store, more than a source of income for the employees and for the town and more than just a place to get nails, or paint or wire. Parks Hardware is a place where you connect with your community. It is a place where you feel part of something special and bigger than us all; it is a very special place indeed, INORONO.
