All we have for now: survivor plants under the sun at the pop-up. Photo by María Helena Carey
Falling asleep next to my kids, remembering Easter egg hunts, Christmas trees, browsing for toys and seeds. So many good @Fragers memories.
— María Helena Carey (@TheMadameMeow) June 6, 2013
Last Wednesday afternoon was rough. After getting a call from Tim Ebner with the news of the fire, I jumped on Twitter. You know it’s bad when people under the age of 30 use a phone for its intended purpose.
In between finishing up dinner and putting up a semblance of a nighttime routine for my boys, I shared the information via @TheHillIsHome that people on the scene and you, our amazing readers, passed on. I shared, tweeted, retweeted and kept going, despite the sick feeling from the fumes a mile southeast from here. I also blame something I ate, but that doesn’t sound nearly as dramatic.
Columnists, former employees, customers, and many bloggers have written tributes to the little store that kept us all going. Their feelings about the magical store are mirrors of my own: we were all dependent on Frager’s. I may have to book a therapy session because I can only recycle the same joke, so many times: “I bet we could get [insert small thing you really need] at Frager’s!” I wait a beat, then the pain begins. Jen DeMayo pointed to her heart when I made my joke earlier this week. “It gets you RIGHT THERE.” Right you are, Jen.
At the pop-up shop at Eastern Market, I really felt the loss. When you hit a certain level of sadness, tears don’t really come out. You just stand there, with an ugly look on your face and try to pretend nothing is wrong.
Frager’s burning down means that life is, in fact, a temporary state. My children are growing older. One day they’ll be adults, who may develop strange relationships with their own local hardware store. It means I’ve been in DC as long as they’ve been alive. It means that my marriage did end. Every aisle held a little solution to a small problem. Every tiny drawer had some clue as to what to do next. Frager’s was child entertainment, therapy, marriage counseling, friendship, solace: a chance to reinvent yourself.
Enough about me: what do we remember most about Frager’s? Here is what our writers (and one significant other) said. Share your memories with us in the comment thread below.
Tim Ebner: “My first trip to Frager’s was probably the most important and memorable trip I took there. I went to the shop with my landlord to get a copy of a key that would open the door to my first house. I was brand new to the Hill and amazed that a place like Frager’s existed. Since then, I’ve made countless trips back for everything from light bulbs to bags of mulch. I’ve walked the narrow aisles, and I have only one request for when they rebuild: please don’t widen the aisles. Keep them cramped and crowded; it’s how you get to know your neighbors.”
Lauren Torlone: “Much of our entire house renovation is thanks to Frager’s, which is no small thing. But my favorite memories have to be of Christmas time at Frager’s. Picking out our tree with our dog in tow — the employees never batting an eye as he ran up and down the narrow aisles and tried to get behind the counter during check out.”
Tapio Christensen (Jen DeMayo’s husband): “I was trying to take off the security grates on my front windows a few years back, when I realized that they were screwed in with a kind of screw that I’d never seen before… Befuddled, I went to Frager’s. I walked in and I happened to walk past Nick Kaplanis, the general manager. I stopped him, and sheepishly tried to describe what I was looking for… “it’s a star-like screw, with a post in the middle, I’m sure it’s impossible to find, etc.” Nick stopped me, and put his hand in his pocket. He pulled out a bit from his pocket, and said, “that’s what you need.” I was floored, and Nick smiled his usual wry little smile. I just shook my head and thanked him in amazement.”
Kate McFadden: “Not long after I had baby #2, I walked by with my stroller and remembered we needed mulch but groaned when I contemplated picking it up later that week… I had struck up a friendship with Frank, one of the brawny guys out back, in the last year and bemoaned (not complained, mind you) that Frager’s changed their delivery service a few years back to purchases over $100. He asked where I lived and I told him 3 blocks away. He put the four bags of mulch on a push cart and wheeled it home with me. Amazing!”
Claudia Holwill: “I really don’t know that I could have completed more than half of the repairs and upgrades in my house without Frager’s. Needing to find odd-sized parts to fit old appliances and fixtures was made so much easier with a staff who knows our old houses and issues. And the rental store was such an amazing addition to their business. From extra tables and glasses for a party to steam cleaners or power saws, or even the time I needed a margarita machine, I was rarely without the essentials for home improvements or parties. Between the paint store, garden store, rental store, and hardware store that had household items that you might need in a pinch, they had everything I needed. If they didn’t have it, chances were you didn’t really need it.”
Kyra DeBlaker-Gebhard: “I would have to say, quite simply, that my day “working” at Frager’s stands out as my favorite memory. I have made so many trips to Frager’s that it is hard to single out one visit or one item purchased that means something extra special. But the day the staff welcomed me into their world, shared their stories and I toured the spaces that make up the three stores will always hold a special place in my heart.”