Lowes Lumber turns 70!

By Ken Johnston Editor Lowes Building & Supplies Centre (Lowes Lumber) in Sleeman and Lowes Furniture and Appliances in Rainy River are celebrating their 70th birthday this week! Not many businesses can say they have been around for 70 years let alone say they have been run by the same family that long. It all started in 1937 when Ab Lowes of Rainy River opened an 800 sq. ft. store in Sleeman, Ont. By today’s standards it probably would have been considered a bit rough, since the inside walls were covered with brown building paper and there were plain floor boards. But it was a stepping stone to bigger and better things. In 1944 the original building was used as a frame for a new store with living quarters above it. Since then the number of changes have been countless as buildings have been added to bring the total square footage to nearly 30,000. While the last name of the management has stayed the same there have been some changes in that department as well. Ab ran the business until his health began to fail in 1974. He then appointed his son Dale as manager of the business. Eventually as Ab’s health lead him to a less and less active role in the day to day operations, Dale became the president of the company in 1980. “But he (Ab) visited us daily... making sure we weren’t goofing off.” Ab remained interested in the family business until his passing in 1983. In the late 1980s Dale’s son Darren joined the staff and now runs the day to day operations in Sleeman. The company also signed a deal with Pro Hardware in 1990 and garnered that companies product lines and garbed the storefront with bright colours and logos. For a number of decades they also carried a full line of furniture and appliances in Sleeman. Then in 1995 they purchased the former Lettner building at the corner of Main St. and Hwy. 11 in Rainy River and opened Lowes Furniture and Appliances. Their big anniversary celebration will begin this Wednesday and run until 7 p.m. Friday. At the Sleeman store kids are invited to a free building workshop after lunch. As well there will be free hot dogs from Noon-2 p.m. all three days. Plus they have storewide savings on a variety of items. At the Rainy River location They are doing $7-$70 gift certificate draws and are offering free hot dogs and a drink from 5-7 p.m. all three days. There are also great deals to be had at this location. Everyone is welcome to visit both locations and celebrate Lowes’ 70th anniversary in business.