MITCHELL – The Caudell/Holmes family is closing their Holmes Hardware Store after serving the Mitchell Community for 136 years. The hardware store located at 620 Main Street will have a going-out-of-business sale beginning on April 1.
“It is a sad and difficult decision,” shared owners Don and Nancy Caudell and long-time employee Martha Arnold. “We thank the many generations of customers we have had the privilege to serve. As a fourth-generation owner, it has been an honor for me and my family to make our living as merchants serving the Mitchell community. Our customers are neighbors and friends, therefore you have become part of our family. I cannot adequately express my most heartfelt thank you for the patronage and friendship of our customers over these many decades. My gratitude and thanks extend to our many fantastic employees that made Holmes Hardware a true family business. Thanks again for the wonderful journey!”
The business was founded in 1887 when John L. Holmes and his brother Samuel Holmes opened Holmes Brothers Grocery. Wendell Holmes, son of John L. and Caudell’s grandfather, took over the grocery business, he didn’t want to run a grocery store so he bought out a local hardware store and started Holmes Hardware in 1928.
Caudell operated the store with his wife Nancy and longtime employee Martha Arnold.
Don Caudell worked alongside his father Don Sr. as a boy and in 1990 took over running the business. Don Sr. continued to make a daily appearance. In his later years, he sat in a rocking chair by the front window, greeting customers.
“Donnie worked alongside town officials for countless years through two Persimmon Festivals and countless years on the chamber board,” said Krystal Shetler, a member of the Mitchell School board and volunteer for the annual Persimmon Festival. “Holmes Hardware has sponsored literally hundreds of youth programs and is a supporter of all the things that make Mitchell wonderful.”
Don Sr. served as general chairman of the Persimmon Festival four times and Don II served twice as chairman.
Shetler shared her memories of going to the town hardware store.
“I remember many years of seeing Don Sr. in his rocking chair at the front of the store watching his beloved downtown,” she added. “I love the smell of Holmes Hardware. I love walking through it to the back to drive Donnie nuts with my latest request and hearing the wooden floor creak as I walk. I love seeing Martha’s beautiful face at the register. I am going to miss this store because it’s the fabric of Mitchell.”
Caudell, 70, hasn’t set a closing date for the store and said it will depend on how quickly the merchandise sells. He is not looking at retirement. He is running in the Republican primary for Mitchell mayor.Â
