History

The story begins in the early 30’s when our Granny, Betty Anderson, came to Fort Frances with her 2 young children, Ron and Margaret (Peg), to begin a new life. During those desperate times Granny made her living with her hands, as a seamstress, and always dreaming of owning her own shop.

One day her dream became reality when she bought a small inventory of ribbons and lace, from Mrs Stethen, and started her very own 'Betty’s Hat Shop'. (The first morning, there were no sales, but by afternoon she had made 10 cents. What a thrill!)

As business began to improve and inventory swelled, our mother and father Ron and Elaine entered into a partnership with Granny. With the keen accounting and organizational skills of Elaine and the drive of business-savvy of Ron, the business really began to flourish. Soon it grew into the store that you see today with the 3rd generation of Andersons at the helm, Blair and Doug.

Looking back we can remember the long days... going to the store right after school to help out, carrying the huge hat boxes, and getting home and eating dinner much later than most families. Our house was always filled with talk of the store.

Granny Betty went to work every day until her 93rd birthday and her portrait still hangs in a prominent place in the store.