One Morning in Arma: Kenny’s Hardware

Photos and story by Caleb Oswell

Arma in Southeast Kansas is a small town with a population of about 1400 people with about 670 households. The town is located just 10 miles north of Pittsburg, Kansas, the location of Pittsburg State University, or 6 miles north of Frontenac.

Several important locations lie on the main street of Arma, named Washington Street. The most popular ones include the post office and the city hall. The town has a butcher, several small restaurants, an elementary school, a high school, a health professional, and bank among many others. Another small business on Washington Street is Kenny’s Hardware, a choice for construction professionals to get most hardware tools and construction materials.

The owner of the store is Kenny Licorice, he manages the counter and assists customers as the sole employee of the business. His business includes most general hardware goods, but he also is willing to help customers by cutting certain materials to fit their needs.

He said his business attracts mostly local professional customers, and as a result only accepts payment in cash or check. Licorice said that he didn’t want to mark-up prices to accommodate digital forms of payment.