Something to be Thankful For
Good-bye from Jack
Well, the time has come. I have been delaying writing anything until now because as you can imagine, this is a day of mixed emotions. When I opened Stone Harbor in January of 2010 I did not see this day coming. I was just a youngster and, contrary to what my eldest son thought, I was never getting any older. Well, I guess I was wrong. I turned 76 last summer and had to have my other shoulder fixed, and with lots of personal stuff going on, it was time. Next week I am turning the building over to Mitch Reaume. Much of our staff is staying, but you’ll see some changes very soon. At this point I plan to stay in Cook County, but I intend to be spending a lot of time in the Twin Cities so I can spend time with kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. Yes, great grandkids; I said I was getting old.
Enough about me. I really want to reach out to so many people I have met and worked with all this time. I have made many new friends who were initially “just” customers. When we wrote up the employee handbook all those years ago the word customer was in there. But we decided the correct term was guest. We felt that conveyed more respect. That was important to me, my daughter, and my son who were my first employees. And as we opened the store I got to know so many people who ended up as not just guests, but friends. I will miss so many.
My team members, of course, were the most important to me and made the store what it is. Over 15 years we had many, of varied experience and education levels from high school students to retired executives. I could point out many of them, but then I would miss a couple and would feel badly about that. But I am going to point out a few. One of my first guides was Frank Moe. Frank was a former state legislator, business owner, college professor, and dog musher. He guided kayaks, canoes, and rock climbing. He, Odin Jorgenson, and I brought back the Gunflint Mail Run sled dog race when the Beargrease was canceled many years ago, and through him I met many mushers. Brain cancer took him a couple of years ago, and we miss him greatly. One of the most consequential people I hired was Beth Poliquin, who moved here with her family, and has worked for me the longest of anyone. She took over as my general manager and is the reason we had such a great kayak and canoe area. The day she came to me saying her husband was being transferred, I don’t know who felt worse, Beth or me. For the last three years she has continued to work remotely, first from Maine and now from West Virginia. I don’t know how we could have continued without her and her best friend Andrea Patten who has been keeping the books, and us in general, organized. Let’s leave it at that. As I said, I don’t want to neglect all the great people I have had the pleasure of working with over so many years.
You will likely hear from me in the Stone Harbor Facebook page. That will continue from time to time. I will be selling some canoes and kayaks, so keep an eye out for that. And I can always drone on about my thoughts about comings and goings in Cook County and the BWCAW. If you aren’t on our Facebook go ahead and like the page to stay connected. I would encourage you to follow our Instagram also. Beth handles that. I have no idea how it works.
Keep visiting Cook County and our local merchants. And of course, stop into Northern Goods Wilderness Supply and check in with familiar faces. They are good people and will continue to take care of your outdoor needs. And to all my friends, I again want to say thank you for the kindness you showed me and maybe I’ll run into in town or on the trails. Don’t hesitate to flag me down and say hello. I will miss you all. Thank you! To everyone who has been in this with me. As Frank always said to us….watch out for deer.
