Today was the last time the clicking sound of doors locking at Northern Hardware and Furniture Co. in downtown Prince George would be heard.
After 100 years in the community, the iconic community hardware store is no more. It was announced this past November the doors would be shut permanently. At 2 p.m. this afternoon (Feb. 22) the last goodbye was said.
"It's a tough decision, well it was tough in November," Kelly Green, the President of Northern Hardware said to PrinceGeorgeMatters today.
"We've had time to internalize it and be ok with it and no matter what, change is hard, but it's necessary and honestly, I think we're all ready for the next chapter."
She started working in the store when she was 16 years old but after 100 years of business in Prince George, it was time to let go.
Northern Hardware was founded in 1919 when Alex Moffat and Frank Witmore bought out the Northern Lumber Company on George Street.
In 1940 the store then moved to its current location on Third Ave. The store was operated by the Moffat family including former Prince George Mayor Harold Moffat who was mayor from 1969 to 1979.
Green's great-grandfather started in 1919, after which her grandfather and his brother took it over, and then her dad took it over before passing away six years ago. She then took over.
"When we announced it in November, the community was amazing," she added. "Came out and supported us and said 'you know, we're going to support you right until the end' and even today, there's not much left and there's a lot of people here. It definitely makes it really feel real."
"It's just that bittersweet feeling, mixed emotions. Every week we could back and there would be a little less and a little less and it's like reality. We all knew this day was coming and it's here."
What once used to be a store full of products, customers, conversations galore and history on the walls was a stark contrast to today, with the shelves empty and the store looking bare.
The change in downtown was one reason the store left. But Green told PrinceGeorgeMatters in November that the store has been struggling to sustain itself for close to 15 years and as they say, all good things come to an end.
"I want to say thank you," she said today. "This provided an amazing life for me and it provided work for my dad and my grandpa, lots of generations. It also has provided retail for many generations of Prince George residents and the community has been amazing to us. Just, thank you."
Green said she hopes people will remember the difference the company provided when it came to customers being more than just a number or a profit generator.
"It's still important to care about the customers," she added. "I really think people still want to come into a store, I think that's what kept us going for so long, to feel appreciated as a customer and the legacy, I think that's what kept us going for so many years, that we cared about our customers straight to the very end."
General Manager of AMCO Wholesale (a division of Northern Hardware and Furniture Co.) Glen Blair, another member in the family, echoed the same sentiments to the community members of Prince George.
"This community is amazing," he said. "We've got many loyal customers. I've seen it, we've seen it through Northern. Thank you to Prince George because Northern would not have been here without Prince George."
While something materialistic might be gone, memories last a lifetime. As Dr. Seuss says: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
"Growing up in here [the store] and running through the halls," she said. "My dad would be down here at night and I'd just be running through the halls riding my tricycle. It's just a huge part of my life and I appreciate it but you know, I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life and I don't know what that's going to be, but sometimes change is hard but it is also necessary."
"I'm proud of everything that Northern accomplished."
