Ready to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Metzger’s Do It Best Hardware store are Los Alamos store Manager Frank Sandoval, left, and General Manager David Jolly. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com

Tommy Thompson, the first manager of Metzgers at Christmas time in 1947. Courtesy photo

In 1947, Harry S. Truman was president of the United States, a downed extra-terrestrial spacecraft was reportedly found in Roswell, Chuck Yeager flew a rocket plane faster than the speed of sound, gas was 15 cents a gallon and Lee J. Metzger opened his Los Alamos store.

Lee J. Metzger’s economic adventure in Los Alamos was not his first. In 1943 in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State, he organized a company called Contractor Sales and Service just in time, he said, to get in on the ground floor of a $780 million government construction project known as the Hanford Project. Metzger had four stores at Hanford for a couple of years and then maintained a store in Kennewick, Wash. He also went on to open four stores in Southern California.

In 1947, he heard about the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, bid on a concession and won the opportunity to run a business similar to what he had at Hanford. He went to Los Alamos and made arrangements for the store, which started with a room in the old Commissary Building and was initially run by Tommy Thompson.

Historical records indicate that the first winter in Los Alamos was pretty rough weather-wise and cars were being serviced out in the snow banks as there was no shop to work in. Pretty soon, the decision was made to close the stores in California and all the leftover merchandise was moved to Los Alamos.

When the new community center was built in 1948, Metzger’s, which had started out selling automobile accessories began to sell hardware and housewares. According to Carl Frederick who was Lee Metzger’s first employee in the Hanford days, the store was really crowded. There was as much merchandise outside as inside and bicycles, lawnmowers and barbeque grills had to be rolled in and out every day.

This weekend, Metzger’s Do It Best Hardware will kick off their 70th anniversary celebration with a huge customer appreciation event at their White Rock location on N.M. 4. Door prizes will be drawn every hour and at 5 p.m. there will be a drawing for a Trager barbeque grill valued at $700. Ticketholders need not be present to win. Metzger’s also is accepting entries for an upcoming drawing for two $500 shopping sprees.

“We are having a cookout with hotdogs and brats served from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., … Our 70th birthday cake will be cut at 2 p.m.,” General Manager David Jolly said.

Jolly said several vendors will be on hand during the event, including Scotts Miracle-Gro, recognized as the world’s leader in lawn and garden products. The store will showcase its outdoor living display as well as its recently expanded outdoor area.

The Los Alamos Police Department Bomb Truck will be there 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. as well as Los Alamos Police and Fire Department personnel with photo opportunities for young and old alike.

Metzger’s is excited about its 70th anniversary logo, which was developed in cooperation with the company that developed the new logo for Los Alamos County.

“The future for Metzger’s Do It Best is as exciting as looking back at the past,” Jolly said. “I have been here for eight years and we have been running on all eight cylinders the entire time.”

“Metzger’s is your classic neighborhood hardware store,” one customer said. “The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable and they will help you get just about anything you need.”

“I think if you stay in the store long enough, you’ll see just about everyone you know in Los Alamos and more besides,” another customer added. “Every time I come in here, I see something I have never seen before.”

Being part of the national hardware wholesale company Do It Best allows Metzger’s to access merchandise at more than 4,500 stores and warehouses, Jolly said. It also allows the Los Alamos and White Rock stores to take advantage of purchasing discounts to which many small businesses normally don’t have access.

“We want our customers to make us their first stop so we keep our prices as competitive as we can,” Jolly said. “We want to keep our customers shopping locally.”

Metzger’s is at 1607 Central Ave. in Los Alamos and 128 N.M. 4 in White Rock. For more information, visit metzgershardware.com.