About this tag

The wooden BAIT fish makes more sense once you know the neighborhood history. Janes Brothers Hardware has been here since 1946, and the corner space later housed Shad and Earnie’s Bait and Groceries. When that shop closed, owner Andy Janes decided Portland still needed somewhere to buy nightcrawlers, so the hardware store kept selling bait. The sign may look like an odd little extra on an Ace Hardware, but the bait counter has roots of its own.