Father Retail

By Carolyn Sloan

The Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

While it has been the cause of some tears, after nearly 50 years in retail, Donnie Wambolt is ready for a well-deserved retirement.

The owner of Middleton’s V&S department store, Donnie has been in the retail business since the age of 19, after graduating from high school. He was only a young man when he became the manager of the Stedmans variety store, which opened in the town in 1968.

After being transferred 13 times to work with Stedmans stores around the province, as well as nationwide, Donnie decided that it was time to stay put. So in 1975, the retailer became his own boss, purchasing the local music centre, which he transformed into the Middletown Music and Variety Store.

“We were just tired of moving around the country,” Donnie explains. “The biggest thing was being your own boss, I guess. There was nobody to tell you what to do.”

When the Stedmans store closed in the late ‘80s, there was an opportunity to expand the business, which had already evolved as more of a craft supply and variety store than a music shop. When the former Andrews Department Store became available, Donnie was ready for another opportunity. He purchased the building in 1991, and has been there ever since.

Lexie Hogan started working for her father Donnie when she was 15 years old. While it makes sense that he should retire, she knows that the change will be felt by many in the local area. At one time, the store was a one-stop shop for the residents of Middleton and surrounding communities. Always there for his customers, her father would go above and beyond the call of duty.

“He’s a man of few words,” she explains. “He’s well liked and trusted and honest.

“They (his customers) are really sad to see him go. They could always find something they’re looking for in here or something they didn’t expect to find.

“I remember him opening up the store on evenings and weekends because someone wanted something.”

And yet, perhaps most affected by Donnie’s retirement is his staff.

“He’s a good man,” says employee Joyce Stewart, who has been working at the store for the past seven years. “He treats us all like his daughters.”

“He’s probably the best man to work for, says Valerie Baker, an eight-year employee of the store. “He’s like a father figure.”

The store itself has been for sale for the past two years, and now that there is a buyer, V&S is in the process of a closing out sale to clear the rest of their merchandise, display racks and all.

“I guess I’m at the age where you got to try to downsize,” Donnie explains. “After 45 years in retail, I’m going to call it quits.”

Will he be sad to say goodbye?

“Oh yeah, yeah,” he says, “but it’s time for a change.”