After 100 years as part of the Prince George community The Northern Hardware closed its doors for the last time Saturday at 2 p.m.
Kelly Green, president of The Northern, said since they announced the impending closure last November so many community members came in to show their appreciation to the staff and owners.
"The community has been amazing and it's been good," Green said.
She said she was surprised she was a little more emotional Saturday than she anticipated but she, her big family and staff are all going to be just fine. Some staff had already left to pursue other jobs while on the last day there were 12 staff members left to join family members as the key locked the front doors to customers for the last time.
It's not completely over. The store has to be emptied and The Champion, the ride-on horse, will find his way to his new home at The Exploration Place next week.
Dave Leman was shopping downtown with his son when they decided to pop into The Northern, not realizing it was its last day.
"I have lived here for 30 years and I am a long- time Northern customer," Leman said.
"I have to say I feel sad to see a store like this going which has not only been a part of my personal experience for 30 years but it's been part of the experience in this community for the last 100."
Leman and his son Kevan, 17, made their way down to Champion for one last ride.
"This place has been open for a 100 years so I can imagine the sad impact its (closure) has had on all the people like my dad because they've spent a lot of their life here," Kevan said. "I remember I really liked riding Champion."
Longtime employee of the Northern, Peter Mueller, stopped by to say good-bye to Leman and let everyone know that he will continue his career at Central Builders in about a month's time where he will offer the same level of customer care for which he is best known.
"Every time I came in here, I'd talk to you and I'd just feel better," Leman said to Mueller as they shook hands.
Green said The Northern was more than a hardware to its customers.
"It was a social place, people would come to get advice and to meet friends and for us it was the place our parents' worked and it was where we had our jobs and it was all about family and that includes the staff who are family to us."
Glen Blair, family member of the owners of the Northern and general manager of Amco Wholesale, remembers filling the nail bins as a youngster and playing in the basement.
"It's where we started and it's hard to believe the end is here now," Blair said. "It's been a good haul, lots of fun, lots of good memories and it's a time to look back and appreciate the relationships we've fostered with this community. Thank you to Prince George because without them we would not have been here and I do have to say The Northern was nothing without its staff. The staff made our business."
As the last customers left the store, the family gathered to take a moment and say good-bye.
Offering a few words of farewell were Green and Blair.
Each said the future held regular jobs for them where they could leave the job behind at the end of the day and both said they were looking forward to that eventuality but first there would be some time spent with family and friends.
"We've had mixed emotions today," Green said. "We've known this day was coming for a while and now it's here. We appreciate what Prince George has done for us and I think they appreciated us as well."
Blair said it's a little bit bittersweet.
"All our ancestors who came before us, great grandfathers, grandfathers, uncles, I think they would be proud of where we've gone and it's always a pretty tough day when the end comes," he said. "We did what we could."
"And we're proud of what we've done," Green added.
