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I had written all the wholesalers to ship immediately, as I wanted
to open on Saturday and had rashly told everybody that I would.
We had no post office as yet and there were no rural telephones
so I drove into Moose Jaw on Wednesday and found that most of my
orders had been delivered and were in the freight shed. Hurrying
back, I hired two teams with wagons and Thursday we brought out
two good loads ....
I hired Mrs. Taylor, ..... whose qualification was that she had once worked for Eaton’s in Toronto. She helped me to unpack and arrange the stock ... Although I was ignorant about business, I was born with a sense of neatness and order. I wanted to unpack my goods, check them with the invoices, price them and arrange them neatly on the shelves, but I never got a chance. The word had spread and customers swarmed all over
the merchandise helping me unpack, and picking out what they wanted
as they went along. They tried on boots and shoes, sheep skin-lined
coats, gloves and mitts and overalls. It was like a fire sale. I would
have preferred to be left alone, but they were all so good-natured
and eager to help that I could not turn them out. I had little idea
what to charge and had to rely on Mrs. Taylor’s knowledge of
Moose Jaw retail prices or the buyer’s honesty. Sometimes I
just had to make out a bill of the items without prices and tell the
buyer that I would send an account later. They were all honest people
and I never lost a cent. |
What is it like to be the storekeeper in a Prairie town? Here is what D. E. McIntyre has to say:
