beck’s home furniture gifts & interiors Flyer.pdf · JEFF BECK of Brooklyn, son of owners Barry...

beck’s home furniture gifts & interiors

July 4th6pm

CHANTALE ANSEMSSpecial to the Graphic

When Barry Beck thought about opening up his own furniture store, he thought his wife’s business, Silhouette Plus, would compliment his business so they merged the two businesses into one.

“I always felt it was a perfect match to put our products and Nancy’s products together,” said Mr Beck. “It turned out way ahead of our expectations plus she has a tremendous eye for decorating and really good taste on buying which is evident with her product lines at Silhouette Plus.”

In 1986, Ms Beck opened Silhouette Plus in the building located across from Somer’s Shoes on Main Street in Montague. She was there for two years before relocating to a building beside Stewart and Beck Ltd.

“I also had a lace store at the (Montague) Train Station for three years, ‘Heritage Lace Showcase Store’, but combined the two and moved to Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts and Interiors,” she said. “We use the accessories from the Silhouette Plus lines

to furnish the store and the furniture.”In some parts of the store, there are displays give

customers an idea what a piece of furniture might look like in their own home.

The store, which is fully loaded with two large floors of inventory, offers everything a shopper might want from home furnishing living room and dining room sets, dressers, fridges, stoves, and more.

Accessories such as curtains, giftware, quilts, framed prints, crystal are also available, along with a bridal registry.

The Beck’s son, Ryan, is also a vital part of the new business. He oversees Beck’s Island Oil Tanks and Heating, formerly known as Stewart and Beck’s Home Heating.

That part of the business specializes in oil tank installation, dryer vents, air conditioners, ventila-tion systems, oil stoves and furnaces, oil fired hot water heaters and electric hot water heaters, wood stoves and wood furnaces.

Barry, Ryan’s father who has 30 years experience will continue to work in that department too.

beck’s home furniture gifts & interiors2 2

Barry and Nancy Beck make a perfect match in life and in business. When Barry thought of opening his own furniture he knew his wife’s store, Silhouette Plus, would be the perfect compliment to his store.

Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts & Interiors a family affair

THEN...

NOW ...


Employees are busy preparing for the Grand Opening of Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts and Interiors. Salesman Darryl Kerwin has been working with Barry Beck for 27 years. Also in the photo is Cindy Peters.

with the purchase of $1,500.00 or more

of furniture or bedding receive a

Free Bell expressVu System*

For three days only!!!

(*Appliance Purchases excluded)


CHANTALE ANSEMSSpecial to the Graphic

The re-opening of the Poole and Thompson building on the Montague waterfront was not only an emotional day for the new owners, but it also stirred up memories for some of the people who worked there many years ago.

“I have an awful soft spot in my heart for the place,” said long-time Montague business-man Dick MacLean, who worked in the Poole and Thompson office in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

“It’s some building and it was wonderful the way it was built and it’s great to see it being used again,” Mr MacLean said.

In 1912, Mr MacLean’s grand-father, Leith Poole, and his part-ner, George Thompson, built the sprawling structure, located on the south side of the Montague River overlooking the water-front.

“The lumber was supplied by a Mr Martin from New Perth,” added Mr MacLean.

The Martin’s owned a general store situated on the same prop-erty most recently known as Clark's ’79 Ltd, on Montague’s Main Street south.

In 1930, after a fire destroyed the original business, the Mar-tin’s moved to the newly con-structed building known as the Poole and Thompson building.

The first floor of the building was used to store potatoes, which were loaded onto vessels bound for Newfoundland. The second floor provided space for feed, flour, etc and there was also a small office on the same level. The main office and some general merchandise including horseshoes, shovels, and pitch-forks were kept on the third floor. The fourth floor was used to build barrels required for shipping potatoes.

Mr MacLean worked in the office in 1960 when Mr Poole’s son Lewis A took over the busi-ness.

The building was later sold to George Brookins and then to Emmett Power of Greenfield, who owned Power’s Produce.

“I used to be a big (potato) grower and I used the building to store the potatoes,” Mr Power said. “I had an office on the sec-ond floor and the top two floors had stuff stored that I needed later on, like potato bags.”

“It used to be pretty busy on

the wharf then. I remember when you could walk from one side of the river to the other across the vessels that were lined up to be loaded. That’s how many were there then,” he said. “A few years after I had the building, transportation to New-foundland went by road and rail.”

“I sure hope they (Beck’s) do wonderful down there,” he added.

Mr Power eventually turned his business over to his son, David. Then about 12 years ago, the building once again changed hands when brothers George and Barry Beck bought it.

When the main building was constructed, a side building was added for space to store coal but it was never finished.

In 1962, Mr MacLean took ownership of that building and finished construction. He then used it to open his ready mix and concrete block business.

“When I moved to Victoria Cross, I sold the building to the (provincial) government who used it as a salt shed until about 1970,” said Mr MacLean.

On May 20, 2002 Barry and Nancy Beck opened their busi-ness in the newly renovated

building.“I was down and looked at the

building pretty close,” Mr

MacLean said. “Southern Kings Construction did some job on it. The town is very lucky to have

this new business.”

A new chapter for an historic building

This is what the Poole and Thompson Warehouse looked like while it was being constructed on the Montague waterfront in 1913.

Submitted photo

One side of the Poole and Thompson Warehouse as it was being constructed. Submitted photo


Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts & Interiors is the newest addition to the beautiful Montague Waterfront.


meet the staff....

OWNEr BArry BECK of Brooklyn began working at his father’s store, Stewart and Beck’s Ltd while he was growing up and still in school. He packed groceries, made deliveries, and was a meat cutter and in 1972 became involved as a partner in the business with his brother, George. Since that time, he has been involved in many aspects of the heating part of the busi-ness and being one of the own-ers, had a hand in all aspects of the business including furniture sales. He and his wife, Nancy recently branched out on their own and opened their own busi-ness, Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts and Interiors.

DArryL KErWIN of Brudenell has more than 25 years experience with Stewart and Beck’s Ltd. Over the years, Mr Kerwin held numerous jobs including meat cutter, deliveries and selling hardware. He is now the furniture manager at Beck’s Home Furniture and is excited about seeing former and new customers.

BILL yOUNG has been a resi-dent of Montague for the past 15 or so years. He was the manager at the Bank of Nova Scotia until his retirement. When the new furniture store was created, a part-time bookkeeper was need-ed and Mr Young’s name came to mind. He was hired and is now a full-time/part-time employee. His background and familiarity with understanding numbers makes him a valuable asset to the company.

STEPHEN MACrAE of Alberry Plains has been an employee of Stewart and Beck’s Ltd for more than 10 years. He is currently involved in the selling aspect of the new Beck’s Home Furniture store as well as furni-ture delivery and assembly.

NEIL MacDONALD of Brudenell started working with Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts and Interiors earlier this year. Mr MacDonald farmed all his life and was willing to tackle any-thing that came his way. Working with machinery and doing some repair work makes him a great asset to the company, as he is able to assemble and repair fur-niture. Mr MacDonald also does deliveries.

OWNEr NANCy BECK of Brooklyn has been involved in the customer service business for many years. She ran a bed and breakfast for about 10 years before opening Silhouette Plus, which is now located inside Beck’s Home Furniture. Ms Beck said she is eager to see all her old customers as well as meeting some new ones.

ryAN BECK of Cambridge, son of owners Barry and Nancy Beck, started working at Stewart and Beck’s Ltd about 10 years ago. He worked with Beck’s Home Heating and now runs Beck’s Island Oil Tanks and Heat-ing, which is a division of Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts and Interi-ors. Along with the installation of oil tanks, Mr Beck also works part-time assembling and deliv-

ALISA BECK, formerly of Pin-ette, now lives in Cambridge with her new husband, Ryan Beck. Ms Beck has five years pre-vious experience working with Nancy Beck at Silhouette Plus in Montague, which is now a part of Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts and Interiors. Ms Beck has edu-cation in interior design, which gives her knowledge in the many facets of decorating. Ms Beck is also a part of the sales team.

JEFF BECK of Brooklyn, son of owners Barry and Nancy Beck, started working at Stewart and Beck’s Ltd when he was very young. He now works alongside his father and mother on a part-time basis and works for an Internet company in Charlotte-town full-time. His duties include selling and some delivery.

CINDy PETErS is the new-est addition to the Beck’s Home Furniture staff. She is from the 48 Road in Cardigan. Cindy was also a former employee for Nancy at Silhouette Plus.

rICK BECK, the eldest son of Barry & Nancy, works in his spare time as a furniture associ-ate. Rick lives in Montague with his wife Marcy and their three daughters, Brittany, Ellie and Drea.


the next generation

The new store allows for plenty of selection. Check out the impressive leather furniture display

Granddaughters Ellie and Brittany share some quiet time at the new store with Poppy and Nanny (Barry & Nancy Beck)

Nancy Beck is ready to help find the perfect for you or a friend. Beck’s Home Furniture is overflowing with great gift ideas.

After sitting for years virtually unused, the former Poole and Thompson building was resurrected recently giving it new life and giving the residents of Kings County a new location to shop.

On Monday, May 20, 2002 owners Barry and Nancy Beck opened Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts & Interiors hundreds of thousands of dollars were put into renovating the his-toric building.

“We had a great opening day,” said Mr Beck. “Like our-selves, it’s like a ‘wow factor’ expression from most of the customers who came in today. Some who had worked here years ago were quite emotional to see the building fully operational.”

Before venturing out on his own, Mr Beck and his broth-er, George, were partners in Stewart & Beck Ltd located on Main Street, Montague, which had originally been owned by Ethan Stewart and their father, Cecil Beck.

In 1972, Barry and George bought the business from Mr Stewart.

“We always looked for ways to change and improve the business and over the past five years, we started thinking about the next generation,” Barry said. “We considered pulling the business apart a number of times but were advised not to so we just kept it in the back of our minds.”

“Finally, we decided to take another look at it and we talked to some people at Home Hardware who have access to a number of home furniture stores, their varying sizes of operations, and we accessed that information and found that other people were making a living (at a furniture based business) so we began to look at the possibility of building another store or to use this building (Poole and Thompson).”

About 12 years ago, the Beck’s purchased the Poole and Thompson building from Emmett Power who owned Power’s Produce and for the past eight or so years, the building was opened to the public for their annual Victoria Day sale.

“The building was mainly used as a warehouse and we were able to maintain it - it was kept in reasonably good condition,” Barry said.

“We got into the feasibility of the numbers and we thought, yes, we can do this.”

After many successful and enjoyable years as partners, the Beck brothers decided to expand. To serve residents of PEI better they envisioned 2 stores with more services and selection - and that is how Beck’s Home Furniture - Gifts & Interiors came to be.

Both Stewart & Beck Ltd. and Beck’s Home Furniture will continue to grow and serve their communities.

So Barry and George Beck decided to branch out. Barry would take the furniture and home heating part and George would keep the hardware part.

The next step was renovating the Poole and Thompson building - the work started in February.

“Today is historically the largest day of sales for the year,” Barry said. “We will be having our Grand Opening July 4 with some really red hot deals and we will also be recog-nizing some people in the community who literally lived


A new life for Poole and Thompson building

The former Poole and Thompson building has sat on the Montague waterfront since its construction in 1913. Over the years it’s been home to many different businesses the building recently got a new lease on life when it was renovated by Barry and Nancy Beck when they opened Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts & Interi-ors.


Interior Decorator Alisa Beck was busy getting things ready for the opening of Becks Home Furniture Gifts & Interiors, which opened May 20. The store will celebrate its grand opening on July 4 and Mrs Beck will be on staff to consult with customers and answer their home decorating questions.

Join Barry, Nancy and the Staff Thursday,

July 4th at 6 pm

for their Grand Opening.

Win Prizes & enjoy Free refreshments!

5284 A.A. MacDonald Highway, Brudenell, P.E.I.

28310.m

Congratulationson your Grand Opening!

We’re pleased to provide your site preparation.All The Best From Harry & The Crew at

838-2191Fax: 838-4051


Last minute details were tended to before opening day of a new furniture and accessories store in Montague. Lester Stubbert, a carpenter and electrician, was putting up hanging baskets on the former Poole and Thompson building, which was recently renovated to house the new store.


One of the businesses at Beck’s Home Furniture Gifts & Interiors is Beck’s Island Oil Tanks and Heating, formerly known as Stewart and Beck’s Home Heating – spe-cializing in home comfort for over 40 years. ryan Beck is the son of Barry and Nancy, and he will join in the grand open-ing celebration on July 4.

This is just one of the beautiful new showrooms at Beck’s Furniture Gifts & Interiors. The store offers two floors of furniture and appliances, perfect for every room in your home.

DONNA J MacArTHUrSpecial to the Graphic

Jack McGuigan, 71, now retired and living in Char-lottetown, was a young boy living in Montague, in the early 1940s, when wind-pow-ered schooners regularly sailed into the busy Poole & Thompson wharf with their hatches filled with coal.

The ships sailed out of Newfoundland, and Mr McGuigan suggests they may have picked up their cargos of coal in Sydney, Nova Sco-tia.

“It was quite a sight - three, sometimes four big schoo-ners, all under sail, would come into Montague at one time,” he recalled, “and they all had to be unloaded manu-ally.”

When Mr McGuigan was about 10-years-old he’d often go down to the busy wharf when the schooners came in and he usually found a job.

“In order to unload the coal, two or three men would go down into the hatches of the ship. Each ship had two hatches, one forward and one in the rear,” he explained.

First, they’d have to break up the larger chunks with picks, and then the men would shovel 200-300 pounds of coal into huge tubs which, were lowered down into the hatches. The coal-filled tubs were lifted up from the hatch-es using a block and tackle apparatus, Mr McGuigan said.

“It was my job to hook onto the block and tackle rope and haul the tubs up with a horse. Sometimes, if the horse went ahead one or two steps too far, the old fellas would be cursing at me,” he recalled chuckling.

“Because the boom wasn’t very stable, the motion and the heavy weight of the tubs would almost upset the high-wheeled d u m p carts, so you’d try to dump the tubs quickly,” he said, d i smiss -ing the fact that he was q u i t e young to

be doing such work.“It was a hard job for those

men down below,” he said. “My job was easier because the horse did most of the work.”

Some ships would come ‘empty’ of cargo, but full of ballast of granite rocks. The tons of ballast, which were necessary to stabilize the ships, “so the waves wouldn’t throw them around,” were very popular with the locals, Mr McGuigan said.

The workers would unload the ballast, and people came from all around to get loads of the smooth, gray and white rocks.

Continued on next page


Tall Ships, Coal Carts, and Busy Days

Jack MacGuigan, now 71 lives in Charlotte-town and he vividly remembers the busy days on the Montague waterfront when the Poole and Thompson was a hub of activity. Wind-powered schooners regularly sailed into the busy Poole & Thompson wharf with their hatches filled with coal.

From previous page“They were really shiny, and their average size was

about the size of a football. People used them in cement walkways, or to border their gardens,” he said.

On their return trip the schooners would be laden with potatoes, turnips and other Island produce. Also, livestock, including horses, cattle, pigs, hens and chickens became part of the cargo on the ships as they left again for Newfoundland.

The coal was stored in Poole & Thompson’s large sheds on the wharf, from where it was delivered to the company’s customers for heating fuel.

“Most people burned coal because it was efficient

and it burned longer than wood,” Mr McGuigan said. There were different kinds of coal - hard coal, soft coal, coke and briquettes. And each type was stored in separate bins in different sheds.

When he was 14, and in Grade eight, Jack McGuigan quit school and went to work.

“It wasn’t a case of having to quit school, my mother was always at me to go to school,” he said. “But a lot of boys back then would rather be out working than stay in school. Jobs weren’t hard to find - I picked potatoes for 50 cents a day when I wasn’t hauling coal. The harder you worked the more money you made,” he said. When I worked for Poole & Thompson I worked 10 ∏ -hour days, six days a week.

“Your day started at 7:30am. You’d get your cart loaded up, either straight off the ships, if there hap-pened to be some in, or else from the sheds. Then you’d go to the scales and get your load weighed. Each load had to be between 1,800 and 2,000 pounds. The men at the scales would tell you where to take your order,” he said.

“Sometimes it would be a short haul; sometimes a long haul, but you got paid the same amount of money for each trip. I remember hauling for 35 cents a load. But one week I earned $44 and I thought I’d struck gold!”

Fall was the busiest time of the year for coal deliv-eries, Mr McGuigan said, adding that most of the roads in the area were unpaved, with the exception of Main Street, in Montague, which had a cement surface.

“Getting up that Wood Island’s Hill with a load on was no easy feat. I used to have a small horse on my cart, and I’d get half way up that hill, and back into a driveway to let my horse get his wind, and then go again.”

It was even worse, he said, during a spring thaw, or after heavy rains.

“I remember passing loaded carts stuck in a foot or more of mud.”

In winter, coal was delivered by horse and sleigh.

And most travelling was done through the fields (because the roads were too deep with snow), or on the rivers.

“The Montague River was ‘bushed,” Mr McGuigan said, explaining that a safe route was marked by par-tially sinking bushes or small spruce trees in the ice, away from the path of the river’s current.

“So many people traveled that way it was neces-sary to have a marked road,” he said, noting that the river would be frozen for at least three full months of the year. He doesn’t recall any coal-laden sleighs going through the ice, but he attributed that to the horse’s ability to judge whether or not the ice was safe.

“I used to deliver a lot of coal to Georgetown, and it was much faster going on the river than it was by way of the road at other times of the year,”

Mr McGuigan said. When arriving at the customers’ houses, the coal

was dumped into cellar hatches.“Our orders were usually C.O.D., and if people

weren’t home or didn’t have the money to pay for their load of coal, then we had to bring it back. “You hated to do that,” Mr McGuigan admitted. “Back then you knew everyone, and it would be heartbreaking, knowing they needed the coal, especially if there were children in the house. But that’s what we had to do.”

He said Poole & Thompson did a tremendous busi-ness in those days.

“When I worked there the company was run by Lou and Herb Poole. Besides importing coal and exporting produce and livestock, they operated a hardware/general store, selling everything from gro-ceries to horseshoes and paint. “There would be 20-25 men employed there full time,” Mr McGuigan said.

“It was a hard life in those days, but a good life. People were happy just to get, by nobody was reach-ing for anything big. You’d be excited just to get a new pair of boots. I don’t think people could settle for that nowadays.


Day or Night...We’re LightiNg your Way!

2830

2.m 583-2416 894-8414 Cellular 969-7096

(Alan MacDonald)amac ELEcTRIc

☎

Congratulations on your

grand openingWe’re pleased to have supplied

your electrical needs ~We wish you every success!


Bedding ... King, Queen, Double, Single - Beck’s Home Furniture has everything you need.

A new addition to the stock is the area rug col-lection. Stop in today and choose the perfect style and pattern for your home.

Beck’s Home Furniture offers one of the largest selections of furniture and accessories on PEI. Stop in and ask about our deferred payment plan.

If you’re planning a wedding be sure to check out our FrEE bridal and gift registry. It takes the guess work out of shopping, plus the bride receives a free gift when they regis-ter.

here’s some of what we have

to offer...


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Did you know?•That 80 gallons of Home Hardware paint was used on the ceiling of the second story.

•A total of 11, 600 square feet of shingles were put on the side wall.

•It took 5,400 square feet of asphalt shingles for the roof.

•A total of 10,300 square feet of drywall were used in the renova-tions.

•A total of 22,000 lineal feet of assorted spruce lumber were used for various parts of the store.

•A total of 3,500 lineal feet of assorted pine boards were needed for the project.

•A total of 19,000 lineal feet were used on the plank floor.

•A total of 15,000 square feet of assorted plywood were used in the renovations.

•A total 17,000 square feet of fibreglass insulation will keep cus-tomers and employees warm this winter.

nothing trivial ....

beck’s home furniture gifts & interiors Flyer.pdf · JEFF BECK of Brooklyn, son of owners Barry...

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