Described as the “7-Eleven version of a hardware store” by owner Lucy White, who runs the store with her husband Terry White, Eugene True Value Hardware offers customers the options of buying canning jars, hammers, bike lights and nails all under one roof. “We’re a convenience store, a very large convenience store,” Lucy says. 

This year, the convenience-hardware store turns 100.

In 1925, Lucy’s grandfather, Gilbert MacLaren, purchased Eugene Hardware Co. — a family joke being that he only bought the business so he could find a job for his brother. Originally, the store was located on Broadway and Oak but moved to its current location on Willamette Street in 1962. Eventually, Lucy’s father, Donald MacLaren, took over the business and constructed a building next to True Value in 1979. 

In 1981, Lucy and Terry bought the business, and in 1989, the two buildings were combined, nearly doubling the store’s size, to create the True Value that we know today. For Lucy, who has worked at the store since she was 14, and Terry, who had management experience from years at Safeway, taking over the family business was a natural step for the couple with a young family. 

“That’s a point of pride, and it’s nice to know it’s been around that long,” says Doug White, Lucy and Terry’s son and the store’s assistant manager, who moved back to Eugene from California in 2014 to be near family and help run the business. Doug first worked at the store when he was a teenager. Lucy and Terry’s son, Steve, who now lives in California, also spent years working in the family business. 

Unlike big-box stores that cater to the needs of contractors, Doug says Eugene True Value is uniquely focused on the needs of homeowners. 

Having seen many small businesses come and go, the Whites believe their location on Willamette Street and attention to customer service have helped Eugene True Value thrive. 

While bigger stores might have more lumber and square footage, the Whites say their store can address the needs of their customers, many of whom have been shopping there for decades, in a way that’s more personable. “I think that’s part of what makes this job enjoyable,” says Lucy. “Fixing people’s problems, finding what they want, is very satisfying.” 

Sometimes, customers are so appreciative, like a woman who bought replacement parts for a cherished lamp and the store repaired it for free, that they’ll give them presents. “It’s been an unexpected bonus,” Doug says. “Usually, we encourage food,” he laughs. Chocolate, cinnamon cake and orange macadamia cookies are just some of the home-baked gifts. 

In the decades of their ownership of the store, Lucy and Terry have had their share of customer memories, which they reflect on with a degree of humor — customers donning tinfoil on their heads, believing they were in communication with aliens — something that, Lucy points out, has happened more than once. 

Another noteworthy episode came in the form of a visit from the police, who had discovered a pipe bomb made with some material purchased from their store, which the builder of the bomb had used his rewards card to purchase. “We printed off the guy’s name, phone number and address, and the cop says, ‘Thank you very much,’” Terry says. 

But the most memorable experience happened decades ago, when they sold a regular customer a shovel. Instead of using the shovel for conventional purposes, the woman used it as a murder weapon, killing a man. “She was a pretty good customer, too,” Lucy says. 

But it’s not all cookies and shovels at Eugene True Value. Last year, the store experienced a major shock when its co-op, the national True Value company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. “Not only is that a surprise, it’s painful. It’s been painful. It hit us pretty hard,” Lucy says of the company’s bankruptcy. True Value was bought by its competitor, Do It Best, last year for $153 million. 

While that was an unexpected bump in the road, another unexpected event — COVID — proved to be a boon for the store due to its status as an essential business during the lockdown. Despite the change in national affiliation, True Value has been able to keep its name and remain true to itself. 

And Doug believes younger generations will find themselves inside True Value as they become homeowners. “I think we’ll see a new influx of homeowners come in,” he says. 

Eugene True Value will hold a three-day event, Oct. 3 to 5, to celebrate its centennial anniversary. A community celebration is from noon to 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 4, with cookies and cake at the store. Eugene True Value is located at 2825 Willamette Street, 9 am to 6 pm Monday to Saturday, and 10 am to 5 pm Sunday.