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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Then and Now this week: Little Hardware

1924: John T. Little, in vested suit, hands a cash prize to a hunter in front of his store in downtown Spokane. The proprietor of John T. Little Hardware was an avid sportsman himself and his hardware store became a hub for hunters and fishermen. (Libby Collection/Eastern Washington Historical Society / SR)
1924: John T. Little, in vested suit, hands a cash prize to a hunter in front of his store in downtown Spokane. The proprietor of John T. Little Hardware was an avid sportsman himself and his hardware store became a hub for hunters and fishermen. (Libby Collection/Eastern Washington Historical Society / SR)

 

Do you remember when sportsmen went to a hardware store for fishing tackle, guns and camping supplies? Today, these are mostly found at specialty stores or big box stores like Walmart and Fred Meyer. 

John T. Little was down to his last four or five dollars when he stepped off the train in Spokane in 1902. He had a degree from the University of Kansas, but little else to his name. He started working construction for liquor dealer Jimmy Durkin until he crushed his foot under a beam. Then he went to work for a retailer, beside future magnate Henry J. Kaiser, until opening his own store, John T. Little Hardware in 1907. It was a hardware store, but specialized in sporting goods, mainly hunting and fishing. He loved the outdoors and it showed. 

Read about Little in Monday's Then and Now column. 

Little's granddaughter wrote a nice note to me after yesterday's column: " I happen to be fortunate enough to live in his hand hewn log home he built in north Spokane. My husband and I purchased it back into the family 20 years ago and have spent those years restoring it as well as it's property, following our passion of resurrecting older things. It is called Littlebrook Farm and truly is much like his home inside and out from the 30's-40's. We have  many of his artifacts and memorabilia. I came here as a child and was 23 when my grandpa passed away. I am 64 now."

 

 



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