Our Heritage

1920, Ben and Joe Katz signed the deed to buy the building that is now Katz ACE Hardware. Dick's father, Joe, worked for one of the major rubber companies, and with the end of World War I, and the demise of the footwear business, he like to tell everyone that he had to fire everyone and then had to fire himself. In those days, when a Son didn't have a job, the family pooled their resources and bought a business with enough income for two families.

And what an 90 years it has been!!! In 1920, Glastonbury was a town of a couple of thousand people and "B.Katz and Son" was a classic country General Store "selling just about everything available." Main Street had just been paved a few years earlier. Much of the land on Main Street was still farmland. There wasn't a lot of retailing because there weren't a lot of people. The trolley ran in front of the store- the stop was Station 33.

Joe and Lucy, Dick's mother and father, were married in the mid '20s. Dick the last of the three brothers, came along in the early '30s and the store became his big play room. The store was, at that time, the center of political and social life. Poker games went on after hours in the back room. Joe was always involved in politics. He was a longtime member of the Board of finance.

Dick's mother, Lucy, was very active in the Glastonbury Woman's Club – was one of the founders and presidents of the club in the mid '30s. She was also always very active in the store.

In 1936, the Giant Flood almost destroyed the store. There was four feet of water inside the store and boats anchored in front of the building. Merchandise got moved and somehow they got through it. The '38 Hurricane which devastated parts of Glastonbury, did little or no damage to the building. Subsequent flooding luckily stopped north of the store on Main Street.

In 1955 when Joe Katz passed away, Dick left law school and entered the business. The evolution and growth from a small country general store to a large full-service hardware store began. The groceries were eliminated immediately. The first of many new remodelings took place in the mid '50s. The '50s and '60s look was changed to what it is today and what the building looked like when it was built in 1870.

In 1989 Bob came home one weekend and said "Dad, I want to go to work with you."

1990, Domino joined the team. This incredibly laid back people loving Black Lab quickly took over the hearts of Glastonbury. Children of all ages wander in daily for no reason other that to visit Domino and she considers it appropriate.

In 1995 the book "Everything from a Nail to a Coffin" a children's story written about the evolution of Main Street from the owners of the building which is now Katz ACE Hardware.