The family behind a Stockport hardware shop are selling up — after running the Shaw Heath store for 60 years.
Handy Hardware, in Davenport, has been run by June Boole and her family for 60 years.
They opened their hardware shop in 1962, and bought the property in the early 1970s.
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After decades of serving the community, the shop is closing and will be renovated by its new owners.
Customers will know the business for having floor-to-ceiling shelving packed to the rafters with stock — and a friendly face behind the counter in June.
“It was cracking,” June told the Manchester Evening News. “It was an empty shop so we started from nothing. I enjoyed every minute of it.
“It took a while to get it going. I was there with my two girls because my husband died after a year.
“It was an experience, I was learning as the girls were learning at school.”
Having run the shop until very recently, June has seen the landscape of the neighbourhood and town change dramatically, she says.
The 91-year-old added: “The area is certainly different now. Tt was very very busy, all the shops were occupied. It was like another world.
“When I moved in, I did not know anybody. The butcher next door was cracking and Pilkington's were there too. They have been there longer than me.
“It's been there a long long time.
While Davenport might have changed, the store itself has not, says Glynis, June’s daughter.
“It's like stepping back in time,” she explained.
For Glynis, the shop was her home throughout her childhood.
She added: “You were never allowed a lie in on a Saturday — we have to be down there. It was only in my later teams I would run it on the weekend.
“Mother would know where exactly everything was. I would listen to her. For years over time I would work there, so I would say the same things as her.
“She would say soak a paintbrush for 20-minutes in cold water to stop the bristles falling out. “If screws do not unscrew then use vinegar.”
Despite her mum’s age, it never stopped her from tackling problems head-on, Glynis continued.
She said: “My mum would even get on the overhang at 90.
“She will be up on the shed to fix the roof if that was leaking. She was really independent.”
Indeed, June’s adventurous spirit is one reason why the premises are changing hands, after an accident meant she can no longer work behind the counter.
Although she now lives away from the area in Peterborough with family, June has nothing but fond memories of Stockport.
She said: “I miss it.
“It was a cracking market. People were always very helpful. I have enjoyed my life there.”
