By Paula Pyzik Scott

At noon on Monday, March 31, the keys and ownership of Keith's Hardware officially passed from Keith and Kathy Wire to Jason and Ursula Minich. The two local families, Century 21 Real Estate and Quest Federal Credit Union gathered on a day when the store closed for this purpose.

The Wires purchased Baker’s Hardware 45 years ago and first operated from rented space on Main St. They changed the name to Keith’s Hardware in 1986 and built the 106 S Johnson St store when part of their space was sold in 1989.

The transfer of stock from the old store to the new was a remarkable show of community support. The Wires recalled that 100 people helped move the hardware store contents. They hired a caterer to feed the volunteers breakfast, lunch and dinner for two days.