PHOTO OF THE DAY: DOWNTOWN FIXTURE
This photo — along with the accompanying explanation — was posted on Facebook by Heritage Hall Museum & Archives as part of its weekly look back.
Coast to Coast was a fixture on Main Street for the last two-thirds of the 20th century. The hardware store traced its roots to John A. Wipf, who was known as “Lynxer.” The nickname reflects his being left-handed; the German word for left is “links.”
Wipf, born in 1895, grew up helping his father, John J. Wipf, and uncles Peter and Joe in the Wipf Brothers Hardware Store at the corner of Third and Main in Freeman, now the open lot adjacent to AMPI’s maintenance shop. In the early 1920s he opened his own plumbing and heating business in the building that recently became home to Insurance Services at 239 S Main.
In 1925 he moved into a building located immediately south of what is now the Freeman Courier office. In 1934 John and his wife, Clara – having weathered the Great Depression –expanded their product line by joining the Gambels hardware store franchise.
Five years later they switched to the Coast to Coast hardware franchise and the business continued to expand. John and Clara’s children – Beverly, Orville and Willis – became involved in the family operation. In 1961, Beverly married Harold A. Hofer and moved to Mitchell where they bought the Coast to Coast store there. Orville and Willis and their families continued the Freeman business which now included hardware, appliances, and tv and radio repair. It later expanded to include a propane business – Kleen Heet.
In 1964 the Wipfs purchased the property to the south and expanded the store physically in the area that today is the northern portion of the Freeman Public Library. It extended east all the way to the alley. Willis’ son Don and his wife, Linda, joined the business; later Beverly’s son, Robert Hofer took over the operation. Coast to Coast merged with Cotter and Company in 1997. The combined company was rebranded as True Value and the Coast-to-Coast brand was phased out.
In 2002, the Main Street hardware store – now operating as True Value – closed and the vacant building fell into disrepair. Several years later, the city of Freeman purchased the property, razed it and in 2007 built a new public library in the space – along with property to the south. That lot (now the southern portion of the library) had been home to grocery stores for much of the 20th century (Jack and Jill in this photo). It was the IGA store when it was lost to fire in 1981. That lot remained empty until the city purchased it as part of the library project.
Incidentally, this photo (from our archives) was made in 1965 and shows the spire of St. Paul Lutheran Church on Poplar Street. The wooden church building was razed the following year following construction of the new church at its current location along Seventh Street.
This history comes from Freeman Facts, Freeman Fiction and the Freeman Courier, important resources in our archives. We’re open weekday afternoons from noon to 4 during the fall/winter months.
