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Flashback Friday – Doraville Hardware Olympic Torch Relay

As we’ve served the community for many years, we’ve seen a lot of change. A lot of people have come and gone. A lot of businesses have come and gone. Streets get widened. Buildings change hands. Kids who used to come in our stores and dump popcorn on the floor are now leading million dollar companies. As a Hardware store, outdoor power equipment sales, and small engine repair shop, we’ve seen Gwinnett, Dekalb, Hall, Fulton, Forsyth, and all of Metro Atlanta change.

We’ve Changed… But we’re also the same family owned independent store that you can count on to help you with the hard to find items and the service that you can not get at a big box store. You get the best products from major brands and know that we will stick behind that product for you. We haven’t changed our core beliefs that building authentic longterm relationships with our customers is the way to operate.

But let’s take one step back into the past. I’d like to start sharing some pictures on Fridays that we have hanging on the walls of some of our offices. We’ll call it Flashback Friday. We think you’ll enjoy pausing and looking back at pictures of events and people over the years who have impacted who Howard Brothers is today.

All these pictures will be added to an album on our Facebook page. We hope you friend us on Facebook.

On this first Flashback Friday, I’m not going too far back in time. We have a picture from the summer of 1996. Since today marks the start of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, I thought I’d pull out a picture from when the Olympic Torch passed in front of our Doraville location.

Olympic Torch Relay in Atlanta passing in front of Howard's True Value Hardware

I remember when we found out that the torch was going to pass in front of our store on its route through North Georgia eventually ending up at Olympic Stadium in downtown Atlanta, we decided to use our parking lot as a place where friends and family could come and watch. We set up a tent, gave out American flags and allowed folks to stand on their vehicles in the parking lot. At the time, we had a Rental store at our Doraville location. One of the items that we rented was a 5 gallon White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer. This wasn’t electric… it was HAND CRANK.

We’d get that ice cream maker out at events and the funny thing was that it drew a crowd by itself. We didn’t have to worry too much about actually cranking the maker, as people would want to give it a try. It was well built and cranked easy. We often wish that we still had it, but they are not made by White Mountain anymore and it has long been gone as we sold off rental items after closing the store.

Several of us remember the almost daily trips down to Centennial Olympic Park to deliver tools, paint, fasteners of all types and sizes and all kinds of other items. Do you remember the Torch? Were you in Atlanta for the Olympics.

 

3 thoughts on “Flashback Friday – Doraville Hardware Olympic Torch Relay”

  1. I remember the Olympics in Atlanta. Seems like a 100 years ago! I remember the streets in Downtown being closed and wall to wall packed with people! A site I’m sure we will NEVER see in ATL again! I worked at the Hotel Nikko Buckhead where we hosted Kodak as our main client. They had this incredible machine set up in the Ballroom Foyer that reproduced an aerial photo of Fulton County Stadium alongside the Olympic Stadium. I’ve yet to ever frame it, but still have it.

    I only attended one event, it was basketball, and it ended up being the U.S. team!

    Memories…..

  2. GERALD BLACKFORD

    YEP THAT WAS REALLY KEWL . AND I REALLY GOT LUCKY . I WAS AT THE DECATUR CAPITOL MEETING A FRIEND FOR LUNCH AND HE WAS VERY LATE , WE HAD FORGOTTEN THAT THE TORCH WAS COMING THERE . SO AS I WAITED FOR MY FRIEND THE CROWD GOT THICKER AND THICKER SO I WENT AND SAT IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING ATOP THE STAIRS AND LOW AND BEHOLD THE TORCH WOUND UP COMING RIGHT UP TO ME . HA THROUGH THE CROWD AND RIGHT UP TO WHERE I WAS STANDING . IT WAS A PHOTO OP FOR SOME ONE SPECIAL THERE. AND AS FATE WOULD HAVE IT ,ME TOO. STANDING THERE IN MY SUIT THE RUNNER ASKED ME TO HOLD THE TORCH FOR A SECOND AND OHHH YES I DID AND GOT MY OWN PICTURE TAKEN. WHAT A DAY… PRETTY KEWL

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