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Index of Subjects
A tidbit of history in acknowledgement of Newfoundland & Labrador's
Ancestor's "Business Hall Of Fame"
{part 1} A wealth of info. on the NGB Website on most topics, hosted by "Don
Tate".
ENJOY!
The Newfoundland and Labrador Business Hall of Fame :
Michael F. Abbott:
A master tinsmith and entrepreneur, Michael F. Abbott established his first
business in western Newfoundland in 1886. His tinsmith shop was built in an
area on the east end of Bay St. George beach known as 'The Gravels'. Abbott
went on to build and operate a general store which provided food, clothing,
household furnishings, fishing supplies and farm tools to all of the
settlements on the Port au Port Peninsula, and later became involved in
fishing industry and pulpwood logging ventures around the Bay St. George
area. A brief partnership with Harry Haliburton of Nova Scotia, saw the name
of the company change to Abbott and Haliburton, a name it carries to this
day. With 117 years of history, the Abbott store is the oldest continuously
operating commercial enterprise on the west coast. Abbott and Haliburton is
currently operated by Abbott's great-grandson Harold and Harold's son Bill -
the fifth generation in the business.
William James Herder:
Herder
The founder of Newfoundland's first daily newspaper, William James Herder
was born at Old Perlican, Trinity Bay in 1849. At age 14, Mr. Herder began
an apprenticeship with the weekly newspaper, the Courier, which he purchased
some 16 years later. The first Evening Telegram was published from the
Courier's plant on April 3, 1879 with a total circulation was less than 500
copies. Herder overcame fierce competition and challenges including the oss
of the plant in the Great Fire of 1892 to establish the Evening Telegram as
a force in Newfoundland publishing. An avid fisherman, Mr. Herder was also
keenly interested in all other sports. All seven of his sons were prominent
hockey platers, so it should come as no surprise that in 1935 the Evening
Telegram Limited donated the Herder Memorial Trophy, the prized cup of
senior hockey in this province. W. J. Herder died in St. John's on May 28,
1922, having spent sixty years in the newspaper business.
Robert Charles Anthony:
Robert Charles Anthony was born on September 22, 1916, in Kelligrews, the
son of Andrew and Frances Anthony. Robert received his early education in
Kelligrews and graduated from high school at Bishop Field School in St.
John's. Financed by scholarships, he then completed 2 years at Memorial
College.
Robert began his career as a schoolteacher but in 1943, entered the
insurance industry with Steers Insurance. In 1952, he left Steers Insurance
and started his own insurance company incorporating it as R.C. Anthony
Insurance Ltd. In 1977, Robert retired from active business turning over
control of a very diversified insurance conglomerate to his three sons, Rex,
Gerald and David, a conglomerate which had expanded to Ontario and the rest
of the Maritimes.
Although Robert had an extensive involvement in the development of the
insurance industry in Newfoundland, he never lost his keen interest in
education. In 1954, he became a member of the Anglican School Board and
served as chairman for several years. He was chairman of the Anglican School
Board when the various boards were consolidated to form the Avalon
Consolidated School Board in 1968. Robert was named as the first chairman of
this newly created board.
Robert Charles Anthony passed away in May 1997 at the age of 80.
Lewis Haldane Ayre:
Lewis Haldane Ayre was born on April 22, 1914, in St. John's, the son of
Harold C. and Agnes Ayre. Lewis received his early education at the
Methodist College in St. John's; Mostyn House Prepatory School in Cheshire,
England; and Wrekin College in Shropshire, England.
Returning to Newfoundland in 1931, Lewis began a business career which
spanned more than 50 years. Starting at Ayre & Sons Limited, a firm founded
in 1859 by his great-grandfather, he was appointed a director of the company
in 1942. During the next forty years, as leader of the family business,
Lewis transformed Ayre & Sons Limited from a wholesale, mail-order
department store operation on Water Street to a successfully diversified
business enterprise operating from coast to coast in Canada. Under the
guidance of Lewis, Ayre & Sons Limited became a leader on the provincial
business scene.
Lewis was actively involved in public service. He was president of the
Newfoundland Board of Trade when Newfoundland voted to join Canada and
president of the Newfoundland Cancer Society and of the St. John's Curling
Club. He was a member of the Board of Regents of Memorial University, the
Newfoundland Royal Commission on Education and the Newfoundland Canadian
Brier Curling Team. He was the first chairman of the St. John's
Transportation Commission, the founding chair of the St. John's Heritage
Foundation and a trustee of the Olympic Trust of Canada. In 1981, he was
inducted as a member of the Order of Canada.
Lewis Haldane Ayre died in December 1985.
Charles Renfrew Bell:
Charles Renfrew Bell was born in St. John's on December 1, 1901, the son of
the Hon. Samuel K. Bell and M. Ellen (Crosbie) Bell. Charlie was educated at
Methodist College School in St. John's; King's College School in Windsor,
Nova Scotia; Lower Canada College in Montreal; Royal Military College in
Kingston; and McGill University in Montreal.
In 1933, Charlie took over a bankrupt food brokerage business, James Gear
Ltd., and from that developed the company now known as Charles R. Bell
Limited. He expanded the company's portfolio to include such well-known
household products as Libby's Beans and other Libby Products, Javex Bleach,
Cream of Wheat cereal, Cow Brand Baking Soda and Kellogg's Corn Flakes. In
1934, he added a Marine Division to his company representing Outboard
Marine.
Charlie had other business interests as well. In 1945, he and his cousin,
Ches Crosbie, took over Gaden's Limited which had the franchise to bottle
Coca Cola and its own line of soft drinks, Keep Kool. The cousins also
teamed up with Edgar Hickman whose family owned and operated the Bavarian
Brewing Company, bottlers of such products as Jockey Club, Red Label and
latterly, Blue Star beers. This partnership went on to enjoy the largest
market share of beer and soft drink products in the province until the
companies were sold to Labatt Brewing Ltd. in 1962. The three friends at one
time were major shareholders and directors of United Towns Electric, the
forerunner to today's Newfoundland Power, Newfoundland Telephone Company and
Eastern Provincial Airways.
Charlie was also a generous benefactor to the community, most of which he
did anonymously.
Charles Renfrew Bell died in 1983 at the age of 82.
Sir Eric Vanisttart Bowater:
Sir Eric Vansittart Bowater was born in England in 1895. Following the death
of his father in 1924, he became managing director of W. V. Bowater and Sons
and three years later was named chairman. In 1936, Sir Eric arranged to
purchase a paper mill on the West Coast of Newfoundland and formed Bowater
Newfoundland Pulp and Paper Mill.
Bowater played a major role in the construction of the Queen Elizabeth II
Library at Memorial University with a generous contribution and also donated
land for the construction of Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook.
The City of Corner Brook has honoured the Bowater family in many ways
including naming the Lady Margaret Bowater Park for his wife.
During the war years (1939-1945), Bowater entered the British Ministry of
Aircraft Production where he acted as Director General, Deputy Controller
and Controller between 1940-1945. After the war, expansion in North America
continued, and the company began to acquire interests in Europe. He was
knighted in 1944.
Sir Eric Vanisttart Bowater died in 1962.
Joseph Lacey Butler:
Joseph Lacey Butler was born on November 12, 1901, in Port De Grave to James
and Clara Butler. James left home at the age of 13 and traveled to the coast
of Labrador where by the age of 18 he had become a Marconi Communications
operator.
Joseph worked in Makovik, Labrador, and Sable Island as a radio operator. In
1930, he became an instructor in wireless operations with the Radio
Corporation of America (RCA) in Boston. In 1932, he returned to St. John's
to build a transmitter on McBride's Hill for the Newfoundland Telephone
Company - VONF. In 1936, he acquired controlling interest in VOCM and
transformed it from a ham licence to a commercial operation with a 100 watt
transmitter.
VOCM's community involvement over the past 50 years has made it a leader in
promoting public events. Joseph generously provided the facilities of his
radio station to public services and was proud of the appellation applied to
VOCM - "voice of the common man", which he used on his letterhead and in
radio broadcasts. The VOCM Cares Foundation, a non-profit charitable
organization, is synonymous with the care and assistance shown by Joseph for
the underprivileged throughout the province. Today, the foundation is a
testament to the strong values of Joseph and his outstanding and enduring
contribution to business and community development throughout Newfoundland
and Labrador.
Joseph Lacey Butler died on July 19, 1954, the result of a plane crash while
searching for a four- year-old boy.
Angela Cantwell-Peters:
Angela Cantwell Peters was born on March 10, 1930, in St. John's, the eldest
of Peter and Madeline Withers' nine children. Angela received her early
education at Presentation Convent in Carbonear and at Mercy Business College
in St. John's and also completed advanced management and business courses at
Harvard and York universities.
In 1947, at the age of 17, Angela began her career at Bowring Brothers
Limited with a job in the steno pool where she progressed through various
management positions until 1978 when she was named president. In 1979, she
was named chief executive officer and in 1980, while retaining the title of
CEO, Angela was named chairman of the board. In this capacity, she was
responsible for all North American insurance, real estate and retail
operations including 81 Bowring Little Shops throughout Canada and the
United States. In 1984, Marsh & McLellan, owner of the St. John's- based
Bowring Brothers, sold the company, and Angela retired having worked there
for thirty-seven years.
Throughout her career, Angela was actively involved in business and public
service having served as a member of both the St. John's and Halifax Boards
of Trade, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Retail Council of Canada.
She also served on the Honourable Donald MacDonald's Royal Commission on the
Economic Union and Development Prospects for Canada. She was vice chair of
the Board of Regents of Memorial University of Newfoundland and chair of its
Finance Committee. Angela served on the advisory group to the Prime Minister
on Senior Public Sector Compensation and on the Standards Council of Canada.
She was a member of the Grand Jury for Selection of Canada Awards of
Excellence and served on the Committee to Recommend on Investor Immigration
for Canada.
Geoffrey Conrad Carnell:
Geoffrey Conrad Carnell was born in St. John's on January 19, 1915, the son
of Andrew and Mabel Carnell.
Geoffrey Carnell entered the family business as an apprentice wheelwright at
the age of 17. The company, established in 1780, was a diversified business
involved in the provision of funeral services and the manufacture and repair
of carriages, sleighs and leaf and coil springs. In 1937, when he was only
23 years old, Geoffrey was named president and managing director of Carnell'
s Carriage Factory Limited. In addition to being president of the company,
he was also a licensed funeral director and embalmer.
In an effort to stay abreast of changing trends in the automotive industry
after WW II, Geoffrey undertook the expansion and modernization of the
mechanical operations of the carriage factory. In 1956, he expanded the
funeral services offered by his company. In 1974, the company name was
changed to Carnell's Limited and consisted of five divisions -- the funeral
home, spring shop, muffler shop, office and warehouse rental and an agency
for toys, pools and dozens of other consumer goods.
As well as leading a successful business enterprise, Geoffrey Carnell found
time to follow his father into politics. He was elected as a councillor for
the City of St. John's in 1958 and in 1962, was elected as the Liberal
member of the House of Assembly for the district of St. John's North. He was
later appointed a judge of the Canadian Citizenship Court of Newfoundland.
Geoffrey Conrad Carnell died on February 15, 1987.
Arthur James Coleman:
Arthur James Coleman was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, on November 25,
1902, the only son of Arthur Coleman Sr. and Mary Gracie.
In 1934, Arthur and his wife, Margaret, moved to Corner Brook and set up a
confection store. Moving to a new location one year later, the business grew
steadily. The inventory was expanded to offer general merchandise,
groceries, dry goods, hardware and crockery. In 1950, the Colemans took the
innovative step of opening the first self-serve grocery store in western
Newfoundland in the basement of their home. Self-serve grocery stores caught
on in western Newfoundland, and during the 1960's and 1970's, the company
expanded operations to include other grocery outlets in Corner Brook, Deer
Lake and Port Aux Basques. The company diversified into clothing and
furniture retailing. Ventures into automotive dealerships, gasoline
retailing, real estate and the restaurant business were also made during
this period of rapid growth.
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Index of Subjects