I I I l
,. . .:.-;.'
FOIIHDER OF THE HOLMAH FIRM BllILlJEll BETTER THAN HE KHEW
The Beginning And Growth Of The
World's Largest Small Town Store
ROBERT TINSON HOLMAN. lotltidcr of the century old Prince Eduard Is-
land firm that bears his illustrious name,
was a man of
many parts.
This man, who was destined to establish it hat is now ”the world's largest small town store," was born in Saint John. N.B., March 13, 1833. He was the eldest son of James Holman. a native of Plymouth Rock. England. who came to Canada at the a'.;e of twenty-one and built up a siicecssful mer uintilc business in the New Brunswick port
city of Saint John.
Adverse fortune in later years rcdue ed the f:ithei"s business to a point young Robert Tinson llolnizin. at the t'.'tl'i)' world and earn his own living. lle lit-aili-it wholesale drugstore in Boston.
In this capacity the founder of llolmaii's showed the
qualities which were to staii(l him in good stead when fin-
ally he launched into a l)usines.s
cai'eei' of his own.
genius for organization and devotion to detail won him dis-
tinction. order and neatness.
His department developed from chaos to perfect During the two years he worked for
the Boston drug firm he distinguished liimsclf as an em- ployee of unusual talents for business eiiterprise.
While in the United States. Robert Tinson Holman yearned for his homeland in (':iiiuilti's 1tlni'itime Provinces. . Equipped with the modern liiisiiiess pl'flUliL'U.s' of the larger
centre, he returned to the Nluritimes and went to work l died in Cm,
with his brother. Samuel ll0ifTlilll. who operated a store
in Charlottetown which nits favored
West Indies trade.
He later bei.-anie a ilcrk another brother, James I.
for
Util-
man. who was doing business at
St. Elcanor'l.
Soon the business was e.vpanil- cd into a partnership when James L.. was joined by a brutlier-iii-law
of the Holmanls. John
Andrew.
The firm started business under
the name of John Andrew
and
Company and transferred its oper-
ations to nearby Siiiiiiiiersiili-.
TAKES OVER However,
It was a sliort-lived
iiitli fill extensive p;ii'tiiei'sliip lfti-is only a year, John .rliiiIreu it.-ritleil In i'tt'I'llll a tiiniliitiu iii:-itii-ii with llctiill Uni- versity Ill iliiiitrcul .iiiil his inter- rxt iii the liiisiiiiws ii.i.s zicqtilred lix ltulii'i'i lillsllltws ii.is not ilI)lll'- Ill the time tint. aided by
i;il assistziiicc lroni his bro- " .l.'iitic.s the toii-i(li-r of H. T.. lluliii;iii s iiersisti-il ill the strugglni it! put lill' tiu-iiicss on a paying; Lltlxls i ”l' wzis only 33 at the time but, firi-il i-.itli the iiiiihilion of youth niul i-iiiiippi-ii with thi- iiieiital cup- <'IlV to unite with the btisiitesl iitirlil. llt' I.'iikle(l the job ntibly.i His first store was only a one room building, 30 feet long and 20
I feet wide. This was the
where
ace of 153. was forced to go out into the sotttli soon after and became a clerk in a ,
humble bvsinnin: of a firm which today
His is the largest retail business in
Prince Edward Island.
i When R. T. Holman died in I906 at the age of 78 he left a ili:iirish- i
ing business and a fine lierit.-iur
I i for his two sons who stepped mu. l
his shoes to keep the Holman trad- ition alive.
The Holman founder. who tnar ried Miss Ellen Mi-Ewen on .luly 27. 1864. was survived by eight
'childrcii. T '0 other children had irth.
STRONG CIIARACTER
it 'I' llolniaii was a iiiaii of striiiig i-harm-ter. a man who know his unit mind hut. did not force his npiiiiun fill others He was as astute I si: ssiiiaii but by nature was charitable and a friend (IT man and beast. In his (l(':ilinQs with the public. be was just and fair and treated everybody alike.
There are many stories ilbfllll the founder of the llolman firm which attest to the kindness uliirh was an underlying virtue of this great island stoi'ekceper. One ni these anecdotes came In light in this. the 100th anniversary year of the firm.
A iiidel).-kiiiiiiii and lieliived ls- llllld clerilyinan. a retired Cathritic priest. wrote to Holmnn's the fol-
iold -
l l
i hitting letter: "tin the tlL'C35Sl0fl of your Cen-
.. by. l .iiii ill'Ullll)lt.'.'i to write this ll.llt'. Wili'll l in- a young tiny I until in lliilma "s in Sum- nii-i'strlc t.iii il:iis ti'.'f:i'e Christ- . I.' - ., I v ,n.. ,.m,", ed up an art-urilinn and began to i . ..i i.) on if ll..,i i u u r :i':iiiiil;itlii'i'. ll. T. miiie ziriiiirtd l and iiistcziil it izixinu me a good
sciildiiip. said -'l.iiaik licre, buy. if you mine dniiii tiimiirrow night and pl:iy like that. I'll give it to .vou'-sci on ('liristiii.'is Eve I was there and alter a feii tunes R. '1'. come ;ii'iiiiiiii and told the clerk to wrap it up and ':'ive it to the boy.' i always rcmciiilier lilltl kind act of your iiraiitllzitlii-i"s. A g a i ii. uliile zit lilllll School In Summer- pside, my f?llill'r look the family
over in Syilncy. .Niiva Scotla,
where the boom was on, I de-
HoIman's Catalogue was Wonder Day In 1909
l
i TVIK P.-llait n,bnllil'nnk Cabinet--Wit-ll A rich giiklt-n tinidi. a bell iiliniw-it tmck. and sin of mi-n mite 1.iuct.e'n:wtIt ' play ti unit it) inch udoiii-itu. lion-tlic new .mm,,Mi.; "iggfd guiind hm: which given nia -koii dii-tluclneu to the lulmtl. iflnkltl , "u. up ....-t..i- with fi-lcttuii clutch in rugif-vi - fluid the spw-cl. It. can be vi-(Hind while run-
. 3014 hit! ti.
l (TYPE LLSIBJIUJ
i 'uivig. Thin ItID('TIlIl(1)l'lli give the but bf nutlnfitctiiiii. Price. . . . . . . . . . . . . r . 5, . t t . E V. l y . t ta
M tntklit
their jno
untied moi Nil.
"5, 'KyT -'4 -
price
- ..'.i.u.:.u Twu '03" "-7
...p..;........
y . N;-,. R. lfia--Myers
' Ictohot Top, roller bent-iiign. Ulla wuim -. rod to work ntmlglit up Mill
-1. ' down and work oxtremt-ly
odd)? baa "lug-nrnlble apout. ndluutable
hue. Thin pump)?! H9810 eytliiilior. all-, I
Tillie oil your lint tame Illuerst
DDT VLMP DI Llklti.
S
yoro Pumps un- liy tltn lunrisst pump
llulll'ivl'll in this wm'l4l.-- In
cumtt-ritctioii fll'l uiiird
only this wry Tillrit imitate- tat. You wllluue tiuitut luuti made of old CMW iron. tint I they no not zllyun-I. lIt1't'Pl
Iailtltnto. Tin-i-n are ”9lJQ'1';A8 6090"; -. .
V
with
'.lfl.. pipe, uoniplollii .. i. .
I "94! '0-WW: 9”” . .-E."-'Q'.4i.',f5.
No. R. 1'13-'Potroo' Pump. -nine atria an above. -comPlrtO.I'lt-h 0i'""d"v -
iCo''.l:f.'):
1.
It inc an, with large heavy
don haul, I1:fl CO.':tOlP of
nuiotu want. uniltow with nf bu-vtu.-ed. minted road. when aid:-a 7 Incline Mob. ufwnic lo-width i-
an A llWl0' nunvvm. an iugtg.
C niahfaiiharclnrung-. en... . . . . . . . . . ..,..
lfl in. lieary iri-n f h-il
bandlu, pi-inn Of...
E
3
3 is
.3
J
on the argument i buy off
iii
.' Because we could see the ity of that sort of reasoning. entered the mail order bud- fn self defence ”
IN IK
The first mall nrder catalogue tuned by Holman .1 was put out in in! and showed the merch- andise which the firm had to offer from the stock In the store. This catalogue can not a very well if- and today it would
3
3372""
other a-ierciiantn loslna bust .
was Sill 00. , You could order a suit from tho
; breasted unit for a rock bottom price of I940. A made-to-measure mil cost as little at 8ll.G in than good old days.
The first catalogue included I variety of items. Practically every
;N'QIllT'?lHQln of the household of
, that day could. as they can today.
I be purchased from the Holman or- ganiutimi.
; SPECIAL TRAINS in 1912. approximately it yet:
later. the Holman was nrftinl near 11 militia mercbandm (in II!
aver I4-Iniilfoui each year. The l"..""""' "”'...t:..”'...'”'.."”....."
nine were I
my instance: to be In mm ilGf. EIIIIIRIL included, in addition to the
-over .'lS.0W famillel. tho develop- ment of special
lowing up of selling opportunities resulting from m married and building new
in later years the mail orb business became iinnrceaury particularly after the advent of th automobile and its ready availa- bility on almost every form. Con- xequently the mail order cam was discontinued and new methods substituted.
cldcd to stay in Summersidc. so I went to R. 'I”. and told him my story and asked for a job. tltly boy' he said. 'I'd rather see you continue in school. but under the eircunistances. come down in the Tll0l'lllllQ.' So. through his kindness, l was a clerk at Holman": until the fall of 1900 ii hen I went to Col- li-:e. ltiiy llolmnn and I were cordial friends as school boys, and we had many happy days together in the big house on llulmnu's Is- land and elsewhere.
"Please ptirilon my boldness. as your granilfzither did in his tac- cordioiii days,
"l'il.'iy the next hundred years he brimniiiig with Ii fl p p l n e 5 s and lilcssings for If. T. Holman, Lim- iletl.
Tlierc is another story about Ro- bert Tinson lliilman which exem- plifies the true nature of the man.
FED BIRDS
For the last twenty years of his life. regularly at seven o'clock cacti nini'iiin:.t. he look a half biislicl of oats from his granary and fed it to the five hundred pigeons that made their home in
.bIS HLIYTIETDUS W3l'C'h0USEB.
This small set was typical of his inherent kindness and the deep feeling he possessed for the wel- fare nf others.
Such acts were performed with- out fanfare and were not done with any thought of gaining fav- orable recognition. R. T. Holman was a man who worked quietly. and consistently shied away from the limelight of piibliclty. His numerous acts of charity carried on over a span of half a century were mostly pcrtiirnied under a cloak of anonymity. He gave. and gave generously, to all worthy causes.
Another example of the unbound- ed generosity of this fine old Is- land gentleman is disclosed by the following incident:
One day there walked into the Holman store in Summcrslde I very young man whose farmer fa- ther had died rather unexpectedly 8 short while before. As so often happens. there was little if any monev left to the son to carry on with the dlfflciilt job of operating a fann which ims not In too healthy a position financially.
The father had been able to Iwing the load while he lived. but the son had to have money or new equipment right away if he were to save the farm and look after the family that was left. He was faced with this situation when he walked into Holmnn's store that fateful day many years ago.
A HELPING RAND .
Robert Tinson llntman quickly perceived the troubled look on the face of the young man and im- mediately approached him instead of leaving one of the store": clerk! to do so. His words to the young man were recalled many yenrii later by a clerk who overheard them. (fhecrfully spoken they were. "And what can I do for you. my man?" Respondinil immediate- ly to the kindness and sincerity of the tone. the young man described hi! predicament and ended by fell- ing Mr. Holman that he had no
IDOVPIIII E!-t tbnrefue you lbould bu: off; old catalogue. a mans single. cnrsirms in Summenldc. The fol-
money.
Not liesllatlniz for a moment. fbe founder of the Holman firm took the young man to the hard. ware counter and told the clerk to give him whatever he needed. This kind act of charity and trust enabled the young man to get on his feet and later he became one of the uucceufnl farmers in his community. He never forgot the kind deed done for him by Mr. Holman.
Hie community was much the rlcber both materially and spirit”. city for his having passed that way.
IIVEIYONII BENEFTTED
He wan not necessarily a re- ligion: man in the sense that his adherence to any particular church Ilngled him out for itpecinl com- ment. I-ll: religion was of his own
his fellow Christians. Although be refused to accept an orthodox rs liglon. Robert Tinson Holman an generously to all churches al faiths.
in politics be In a Liberal. but nothing could ever induce him to run for political office. He be lieved In clicking lo buitineu and
ltriiiuu Paid iTlie Founder of Holman Firm
A citizen of 5 mac pat the following tribute to the Foun- derofll. T. HolmanLtd..oathe 75th anniversary of the firm.
A brave. honest. generous. noble man of nature, a foremost citi- zen, a hater of sham. a true and many-sided man. it will be long until we see his like again.
R. T. Holman was known all over the Dominion of Canada. Al- though he seldom left his beauti-
B-
5 ful home - and travelled but little
-few men. however. were an well educated. When not engaged in business or in sleep, he was ever storing his mind with knowledge.
He had a unnll body t but a great soul- a Liberal in politics and in religion be cherished the hope of Universal Salvation. So repugnant to him was suffering that old time orthodoxy wait I nightmare, a hideous dream which he did his best to break up.
He knew the churches were I necessity. and every church in Summeruiite received his generoul support with real financial aid, but he hated all shams. all cruel teachings, all liypocrisles, wheth- er in or out of a church. He was an Iconoclast, but his love for the idolator d tirn to seek to destroy the idol. though it gave temporary pain.
Need seldom sought 3 u c c 0 r from him in vain - to the de- serving poor his hand was al- ways open - if the money and money's worth he gave in charity were added together it would make a fortune.
His word was as good as his band. Self-reliance was a domi- nant feature of his character. He would follow no lead - he must lead. This peculiar characteristic made him appear overbearing, self-willed and egotistical--but he was none of these. Indeed he was essentially a modest man - too modest to be as useful as he might have been, for It was hard to get him to speak in public. al- though he was a splendid speaker, with a wide range of knowledge and ready wit, fluent of speech. keen. cutting and sarcastic; when he did speak it was effectual.
He could not be induced to ac- cept a public office. Had he sought election to any Parlia- ment. on any ticket, it is doubtful if any opponent could have bent- en him. t
with the great mass of the people he was extremely popular. This was one secret of his suc- cess as a merchant.
His enemies were few and were generally self-made.
To those who only knew him slltlhtly he was paradoxical-sow ialiiitic - monopolistic, austere- humorous. kind-cruel. religious, small--large. The truth is he was skeptical. courageous - timid and a great many sided. not easily understood, a close reasoner and deep thinker.
He worshipped the new; his face was always toward the down.
He was an optimist. a lover of the light. S t u d i e s of Sanllarv science. kindness to dumb ani- mals. love of the beautiful and the breaking of idols were some of his pastimes and hobbies.
and possersed a remarkable com- mand of the English language. Had be chosen to accept office. there is little doubt that he would have been elected by a large ma- lorlty.
WAS WELL INFORMED
Mr. Holman was a great reader and he kept himself well polted by perusing the latent books and the periodical: of the day. As a result he was widely Infarmcd on many issues and few businessmen of his day had greater knowledge of the problems of that era.
However. it was not always I case of all work and no play for the man who founded Prince Ed- ward Island's largest retail buli- ness.
Robert Timon Holman. although he seldom found time for any pro- tracted vncntion. mught hlg re. taxation in gardening and similar bohblcs. His home was his pride and his flower garden was a thing of beauty.
No other businessman in Prince Edward Island. and possibly few in Canada for that matter. built on such solid foundation an did R. T. Holman. He came up through the ranliu and bad a thorough knowledge of his business from the smallest to the largest tran- sactions. Whcn he died after more
than fifty year: as in shopkeeper. lie left a burineu heritage which has been carried on by Till descendants Into its second cen- tury In a flourishing state and promise of cutlnuod expan-
rn.-- ...- ....-
l i no
Page 2 The Guardian
Mon-o August
Holman Tradition Proudly Retained
Prince Diward Island's largest retail establishment. the firm of R. T. Holman, Limited, like so many other
large business enterprises. carries
name of its founder.
with distinction the
One hundred years ago, this proud Island firm was founded in Summerside by Robert Tinson Holman. At the end of its first century of service. the business is still con-
trolled by the Holman family.
The grandsons of the
founder are guiding the destiny of the firm as it cele- brates this year the centennial of its founding.
A century ago conditions were much different than they are today. It was a. day when the rugged individual- ist such as Robert Tinson Holman could rise or fall on the tide of free enterprise which engulfed a whole new world. And the founder of this great mercantile business built
on solid foundations.
So well did he lay the groundwork
for his chosen career that the firm of R. T. Holman is to- day known as "The World's Largest Small Town Store."
Some three hundred soul: made up the Population of Sum- merside when young Holman hung out his shingle over the one-room .wooden building on Water Street which wasptlie lore- runner of the store whiclntoday is the leading retail firm in the Province and one of the largest in the Maritimes. The tradition of service which characterizes the Holman's of today was establish- ed by the founder. '
The one-room store flourished because of the liiisiness prin- ciples" carried out by the founder.
Business expanded rapidly and in.
I895 Mr. Holman built a new and much larger store.
EXPANSION
When he died in 1906 at the age of 73, he had two sons train- ed and ready to take over the business. These two sons. Harry and LeRoy Holman, inspired by the leadership of the founder car- ried the Holman banner to new heights. The firm flourished under their policies and soon it l)cl'J ne evident that additional space would have to be provided if pro- gress was to be made. In 19H the two Holman brothers con- verted a large brick warehouse belonging to the store and ad- jacent to it Into a new store. This building still stands today and was the fin al accomplishment from the one-room store of 1357 to a full department store. it oc- cupicd almost a whole block in the heart of Sl.lmmf.'f'5idC'l busi- ness district.
It was during the regime of Harry T. and LeRoy Holman that the firm undertook what might have been considered a bold ven- ture by a'small town store. it started Canada's first mail order catalogue which was an object of wonder and an interesting read- ing piece for families throughout the Mnritimes. The first is: ue came out in 1909. it brought a flood of mail order: from all parts of the province including a letter from n hinterland settlement in New Brunswick. the writer of which wait apparently a hit con- fused. The address on the en- velope was merely, "(lid Mnn. " stilt. P.l-ll." The letter reached its destination thanks to the ' cnulty ommon to mem-
lnitiative And lgon lLed To Great Store
The success of R. T. Holman. Limited in the mercantile world can be attributed largely to the lnltiatlve of the individuals who controlled the firm down through three generations.
R. T. Holman. himself. of course. blazed the trail. The idea of the department store was foreign to Prince Edward Island when he iitnrtcd business 100 years ago. The colony was small and the nceds of the people were met by small store: In the few towns and villages which then existed.
But R. T. was a man of vision. Ho reasoned: if separate stores dealing in hardware. groceries. farm supplier, hats. clothing dry goods, etc. could be ......chnndizcd successfully under individual man- agement. it should be practical to sell them all under one roof and with the same financing
Thus the first department store
ARD
of any the was established in the province. t
- V-V---7-. .....A-V. - ...,... ..
. -1957-
lOF Dl
RECTORS
bar: of the postal service. BRANCH OUT T Not many years after launching the big store in Summerside. the firm of R. T. Holman. which had been keeping tabs on the fast growing mercantile market In Charlottetown, decided to branch out. A store was opened in Char- lottetown. It was only a small store and was located on Rich-
mond Street. But when the prem- ises of Beer and Weeks, furni- ture dealers, became available
soon after. the firm of R. T. lini- mnn moved to Grafton Street and the site It now occupies.
It was no overniglii jump to the position now occupied by the firm in the capital city. The growth was steady. but sure and c n m a about by rental and final purchase of several adjoining b u sin e s I premises. Today the Charlottetown store occupies the prominent part of ll city block on Sunnyside and the store runs through the entire block from Grafton to Kent Street.
One hundred years after its founding H olm n n '5 is still not through growing. This year a men's furnishing and clothing de- partment was added giving the Charlottetown operation the status of a full fledged department store
OLDER THAN CANADA
Holmnn's store in Summeuidu is ten years older than Confeder- ntlon. its progress has kept pace with that of the province. It is do- lng the same adequate Jill) today serving the town's populntoln of 7.000 as its founder did when there were only 300 inhabitants. But it serves more than the town's popu- lation as its trading area stretches from Hunter River to Murray liar- bour in the southeast and l-Elmira in the northeast.
This old Island firm is as mod- cm In its mercluindising methods as the newest shopping centre: which are mushrooming outside the larger cities of North America. A progressive group of directors and departments are always alert for the latest and best merchan- dise which is imported to serve the wants of their myriad: of cus- tomers. llolman customers are protected by a century old guar- antee of service and sntislnctliin. llolman's have a proud boast that they will never knowingly be un- di.-rsold.
Made customers Feel Welcome
There are more ways of selling an item than by standing behind a counter.
in fact R. T. llnlmnn. Limited came out from behind that counter many long years ago. They came out on the floor to talk with the customer. They came out of the store to talk with the customer at his home.
They also thought up other W!!! of increasing sales volumel. One of the most successful of these ideas were the special con- teua run by Holman's.
One of the latest of there won the contest which gave 81,000 to the Women": Institutes. Every. one voted for their favorite in- stitute and they voted simply by draping into the store.
0 June. bride contest iii an- other fnvnrite. In former yegrg there were Popular Girl. Popu- lar Boy contests. There are alao NKZVCIO flfllnll contest and other athletle contest: to interest ev- crynne.
I
--...., ,; ,'
tit
rig