Every so often you come across a moment that captures the heart of Rhode Island. And so it was last week on an industrial stretch of Providence’s Valley Street, home to a humble business that for three-quarters of a century has played a hidden part in creating our landscape.

I went there last week to see its last surviving patriarch, Raymond Ardente Jr., mark his 100th birthday. It’s called Ardente Supply and it’s where plumbers and builders for generations have gotten fixtures for the region’s hotels, businesses, hospitals and countless homes.