How to Reclaim Water in a Hardware Store
Chet’s Hardware co-owners Mike Cassidy and Cinde MacGugan-Cassidy moved into their new location in 2020, restoring the historic building that Merchant Marines used as a recreation center during World War II.
I’m Mike Cassidy, co-owner of Chet’s Hardware on Catalina Island, Calif., and I saved money and natural resources with some plumbing fixtures and a big ol’ tank.
In 1977, Chet’s Hardware on Catalina Island became an integral part of my life.
My grandmother lived on the island, which is 26 miles off the coast of Los Angeles. When I was young, my parents would visit her, and they fell in love with Catalina and its relaxed lifestyle. Almost on a whim, they decided to move there and buy the local hardware store. I was about 16 years old at the time and hated leaving my high school and friends, but it wasn’t long before island life won me over.
On Catalina Island, one of the biggest challenges is the water supply. During the last drought, watering plants was a low priority when water was rationed.
It’s not surprising that I quickly started working at the hardware store. Depending on whom you ask, I was either fired by my dad or quit several times over the years, but that didn’t stop me from developing an appreciation for the hardware business. My dad passed away in 1990 and my mom and I ran the store for the next dozen years. She did the bookkeeping, which I hated, and I ran the store and dealt with customers, which she hated but I really enjoy. Now that my wife, Cinde MacGugan-Cassidy, and I have bought the store, we have the same arrangement. She does the paperwork. Thankfully!
Chet’s Hardware on Catalina Island, Calif., stocks a little bit of everything, because the closest store is 26 miles across the Pacific Ocean.
Historic Building, Need for Water
For such a small island, Catalina has an outsized history. William Wrigley Jr. bought the island in 1919 and set about investing in utilities, infrastructure and amenities, hoping to create a vacation magnet for the burgeoning population on the mainland. Just one of his many marketing brainstorms was bringing his Chicago Cubs here for spring training in 1921, a tradition that continued until just before World War II, when, like the rest of America, the island was mobilized for war. Many subtle artifacts from that time remain, including in the building where our store is now located, which served as a recreation center for the Merchant Marines.
We began moving into this building in 2020 and did all the renovations while the world was shut down during COVID. We completely restored the building, reclaiming some of the old gymnasium floor, which we now use as a countertop in the hardware store. It was important to me that we preserve the legacy of the building.
At Chet’s, we sell a little bit of everything, because the next closest store is across 26 miles of ocean. We have a good mix of housewares, plumbing, and hardware. In the back of the shop, we have an area for refrigerator service and for fire extinguisher maintenance and lock work.
