Listen to this story here:
Janet Kodish: “You got to have a hardware store! You got to have a market… you got to have a gas station.. And you got to have a hardware store!”
That’s Janet Kodish – owner of Desert Hardware out on Adobe road in Twentynine Palms. Desert Hardware is the oldest running business in Twentynine Palms… it was 71 years ago when Janet’s parents Sam and Harriet Kodish drove out to the hi desert from Los Angeles:
Janet Kodish: “Dad came out looking for a place to start a business. He taught himself how to grind crankshafts, he figured going up the Morongo Grade… just like clock work cars would breakdown going up the grade… and he thought the town would grow because of the base coming in so they started that shop in ‘53.”
That shop was Desert Auto Parts – it began as a small building where Sam rebuilt starters and generators out front of and sometimes slept in the back, while his wife Harriet took care of the book keeping and accounting..
Sam Kodish: “I stayed out of her hair and she stayed out of mine (laughs)..”
That’s from an interview with Sam that was done back in 2011 with Cheryl Erickson and Pat Rimmington – and supplied by the Twentynine Palms Historical Society.
Sam Kodish: “In 1955 or 56, right in there we had a person who was a landscape engineer that worked for the universities in California. He would come in and said he wanted to invest money in Twentynine Palms. But he wanted to build something or have someone who could put up a building and have a lease on it. And he found me and he said, ‘If you put up a building and supervise it, I’ll give you a long-term buy on a piece of property.’ And we didn’t have any money to put a down payment on a piece of property. But we thought about it and we took him up on that deal and we put up our first building on Adobe Road.”
Janet worked at the shop with her folks “getting 10 cents an hour counting invoices, helping to count things on the shelves… I left town in 1973 and all the rest of it came after I left..”
The rest of it was Sam and Harriet’s business expansion into hardware in 1976 – partnering with ACE and renaming the shop to Desert Hardware – selling tools, plumbing and electric right alongside the automotive parts. They’ve been supplying Twentynine Palms and the surrounding areas with those “need it now” type of supplies ever since – but like any business or person or thing that’s been around for over 7 decades, it’s had its ups and downs.
Here’s a little bit more from that 2011 interview with Sam:
Sam Kodish: No, I still own the place. Everything is paid off, everything is clear. I have no debts. I have a business that has no profit. (Laughter) Well we had eleven employees at one time there. We’re down to three. Those three guys have been with me around 30 years or more… those three guys. Dennis has been there more than 30 years and the other two: one is 9 and another 27 years.
I haven’t been down to the store in more than a month. It’s all done by fax!. I pay all the bills, all the bookkeeping bills, payroll, all the taxes, all that stuff.”
Then in 2020, COVID 19 hits, and Desert Hardware’s longtime manager Dennis died unexpectedly. The business was functioning but had seen better days – a reliable place for pros and old timers who knew the ins and outs of an old hardware store, but perhaps not a store that was comfortable enough for the casual crowd.
After her father passed on in 2018, Janet had a decision to make…
Janet: “How can this property be best to the community? I put a job out on Indeed, and Kelly responded right away. She had all this experience and enthusiasm for the potential.. And she has her own memories of coming to the store… we’re both hometown girls, right?”
Kelly: “I actually remember coming to the store with my Dad. This store has so much history and I love that we are honoring. Through all these changes the community’s just embraced us, which is amazing!”
That’s the new Store Manager Kelly. You can find her there most days helping customers or helping with the new store redesign. The word “community” got brought up a lot while I was there, a hardware store being one of the last great spots you can visit with a problem you have no idea how to fix, and chances are someone will be able to help you with a solution, even if its temporary.
Janet: That happens all the time now, especially with plumbing… and Larry has been here for over 20 years and can almost always find or jerry-rig you something.”
Larry: “Yeah that’s right, yeah. My brother Dennis used to be the old manager, and he got me out here and I’ve been here ever since. Look, me and Dennis were here for so long that we see people come in with their kids, and now THEIR kids are coming in… that drinking water by the door is the coldest water in town. Some people just come in for a drink of water… they love it.”
Larry Hepler has been working at Desert Hardware for 20 years – his brother the former store manager who previously ran it for 30 years. I talked to him next to a heavy cast iron pipe thread cutter – one of the few older machines that still gets daily use in the back rooms of Desert Hardware.
That’s what I liked the most about visiting Desert Hardware – it had a great mix of old and new. They’ve expanded into home improvements with a paint department and they are building out their lawn and garden area in the front, taking advantage of those big windows that face Adobe Road.
The store is brighter and revamped but it hasn’t lost the charm of a small town hardware store. The counter behind the checkout is made up of the colorful orange Dorman cabinets – and at the end of that counter? My personal favorite: the key machine.
You can get a house key made at Desert Hardware for just .79 cents. There’s something about a copy of a key being under a dollar that sticks with me. I know that sentence firmly places me in middle age – but being able to slap down a dollar and have a human hand cut my key on a machine right on the counter? It’s rare experiences like this that I find myself really appreciating in life.
Did I mention it’s under a dollar?
Janet Kodish: “For a regular house key? Yeah we never changed the price.”
Desert Hardware is open 7 days a week – the earliest they close is 2 on Sundays. If you haven’t stopped by in a while or if it’s your first time, go check out a local business that’s been serving the Morongo Basin since 1953. You’ll probably find what you need, and if not – try the water fountain on the way out.
Thanks to the Twentynine Palms Historical Society for their indispensable help in researching this story and providing the audio interview, transcript, photos and newspaper articles.
