June 2021 – Durfee Newsletter

You can tell by the bargains this month that it’s time to get out in the yard and enjoy being outside.

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People seem to like a little story

This pandemic has really been difficult for so many people. It has been especially difficult because it involved peoples health as well as introduced financial problems. I’m hoping that we are coming out of this difficulty stronger and that we have a string of years where life improves.

I think this has been especially difficult psychologically for younger folks. While we haven’t had pandemics in the past, we have had a number of financial crisis to weather and overcome over the years. Many of those in the workforce were too young to personally feel the effects of previous hard times.

My grandfather started Durfee Hardware in 1930. The crash of the great depression started at the end of 1929. Over the years, the store, and our community has weathered a great many difficulties.

I’m getting old but I’m not so old I remember that. It was way before my time but there was the RI Banking Crisis of 1990. Improprieties by a credit union revealed a state bank insurance system that was ill-prepared for any surprises. It is something well worth looking up for those who were not around to see it in person.

Then there was the dot-com bubble causing a market crash that started around 2000 and, of course the great recession of 2008.

I mention these because we wish to thank you for supporting our store and our family through each of these periods as well as the pandemic. Our community has weathered many storms and it seems like we are finally coming out of this one.

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Stuff we did this month—

Every spring the ants come out and want to get into your house. I used the household spray around my foundation to prevent that from happening. I sprayed some spot crabgrass killer on the few spots in my lawn that looked like it might be getting a foothold.

I planted even more grass since I am very lazy about watering it and the spring and fall have enough rain so that isn’t a problem.

I bought some dimmable LED lights so that my kitchen could have lower lighting without having them flicker.

Also, on my back deck, I have those decorative lights where you can see the filaments. A lot of restaurants have them. They cost more electricity to operate but they look really cool. I had to buy a replacement for one that went out.

I noticed that my brother Paul is way ahead of me on the flower planting and mulch stuff. His gardens are looking great.

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