THE NORTHERN 95TH ANNIVERSARY | THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2014
Cont’d from page 6 He put me to work repairing bicycles after I was done at school,” Mr. Clare remembers. “A job was a good thing to have back then, so I was happy to be here.” The feeling lasted. He was such a good fit with the Moffat clan that he was promoted to the business office in 1948 before he was even 20 years old. Eventually he became a shareholder. He is still the human mainframe that reconciles the numbers. He said he isn’t much interested in TV, “my golf game isn’t that good” so he prefers to keep in daily contact with the family he has made under The Northern’s roof. Since he is family to them, too, that position is his as long as he wants it. “I have worked with some great people over the years, and some are still very good friends of mine,” he said. “I’ve gone through four presidents of the company. Alex was more of a relaxed man, and Harold was an entirely different man. Harold had an opinion all his own and if you couldn’t somehow convince him otherwise, well that was it. Then Ted, he was different again. He was sociable and easy to get along with but he didn’t deviate from the principles of running a business.” At this point Mr. Clare pauses and a fatherly smile breaks across his face.“Now, Kelly, I’ve watched her grow up since she was in diapers. Kelly has her own personality, of course, and her own views on how things should be done, but she knows how to treat people and treat a business.” Somehow, through 95 years of hard work and innovation, a few simple values were passed down to Kelly, and it is no secret around the store that Mr. Clare is one of the main reasons. He has been a bridge through those times, and has a nurturing personality to convey those values. Just
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remembering out loud how things used to be can pass on lessons about integrating with community, responding to people’s needs as they change over time, and putting in effort. “We used to have to burn firewood in the furnaces. In early fall you’d have to starting piling it in. The whole back lot was just about full,” he said. “We used to have to supply oil to people, but it only came in bulk drums, 45-gallon barrels. We would have to pour it into individual containers and label them ourselves.We used to sell dynamite.That was really important for land clearing and construction. We had 400 sawmills in this area at one time and they all needed products and services that we provided.” Despite the vastly different economic profile of the region, Northern Hardware trimmed the sails each time the wind changed direction. Mr. Clare is the living example that the only thing that ever stays the same is change, so if you keep your focus on solid human values and respect the challenges the customers bring through the doors, you will thrive over time. Not every business, he said, is built for agility. When he was young, there were major lumber yards in downtown Prince George, but both are now gone or drastically different. McInnis Lighting, for example, is one of those. “I really think the era of the ‘big box’ store is going to come to an end someday,” he said.“I think they have grown too large for people to enjoy the shopping experience. People expect good service from a knowledgeable staff. That is missing at the big boxes.” They also lack decades of mentorship, experience and personality all under the same hat. The Northern has that irreplaceable quality in Hilliard Clare. Courtesy of Frank Peebles, Citizen staff