Beyond Hammers and Nails: The Long Legacy of Theo. Daigle & Bros. Hardware Store

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       Our story starts with Joseph Ernest Daigle and his wife, Maria Madeleine Breaux Daigle, whose 12 children nearly had a monopoly over Church Point. One son, Theodore Daigle, was born in 1875, and after receiving his education in town, dabbled in a few business ventures, including the People’s Lumber Co., Ltd, a saloon, and a hardware store. In 1901, he received a tiger cub from his uncle for Christmas and showed it off at his two-story "Klondyke Saloon."
         His most well-known contribution to the town was “Theo. Daigle & Brother’s Hardware Store” that opened in 1910, with his brothers Joseph Ernest Jr. and Emilien owning shares of the company. At 221 N. Main St., Theodore and staff stocked and sold a variety of items including carpentry, plumbing, and electrical materials, paint, tools, small machinery, home appliances, farm implements and heavy machinery, and eventually tractors, auto parts, and furniture.
         In 1917, another brother, Benjamin, bought Joseph Ernest Jr. and Emilien’s shares. Shortly after that, namesake Theodore passed away in 1924. His son, Clarence Dodd, bought a fourth of the company’s shares and began working with his uncle Ben, becoming the owner after his death in 1947. Dodd also owned the Daigle Oil Company, Daigle Butane and Appliance Company, and a distribution center for Texaco products. After Dodd's death in 1974, his son, Freddie, managed the store until 2000.
         The store stayed within the family until 2007 when Dodd’s granddaughter Posie Pole and her husband Ronald “Rolaid” Carrier sold the store to Kent Latiolais, owner of "Kent’s Flooring and Furniture Center." Their only condition was that he keep the last name in the store’s updated name because of the approaching 100th year anniversary that would solidify Theo. Daigle & Brother’s Hardware Store as the oldest continuously operating business in Church Point. Kent happily obliged, and after moving from Main Street to the old Thibodeaux Chevrolet Car Dealership (which was also built by Theo Daigle Hardware in 1936) to 110 E. Plaquemine St., he called it “Daigle Hardware.”
         In 2015, Mayor Ryan “Spanky” Meche purchased the hardware store. He, museum staff, board members, and Curator Harold Fonte at Le Vieux Presbytère Museum created an exhibit to showcase historic Church Point businesses, such as this one. Local historian Gene Thibodeaux also works to preserve these stories in his newspaper column titled "Tales of Yesterday: Acadia Parish: Its History."
        Today, Daigle Hardware is often referred to as “Theo. Daigle” or even “Dodd’s” by patrons who always seek to honor the business’ history by actively acknowledging its age and impact on the community. Despite the presence of hardware and auto-parts stores run by large corporations in Church Point, locals support this now 114-year-old business for its hospitality and nostalgia.