The story began in 1968 during a Christmas Eve gathering that bore the idea of starting a hardware store in Maple Valley. Just six months after that discussion, Wilderness Hardware Inc. opened for business in the Wilderness Village Shopping Center with a Coast to Coast Hardware affiliation. Stanley and Christine Johnson, in partnership with Karl and Ardis Johnson, started the store. The store opened with 2800 sq. ft. of space and expanded twice before a new store was built.