Popular Stanstead family business welcomes new owner and new name

By Marianne Lassonde, Special to The Record
Popular Stanstead family business welcomes new owner and new name
Raymond and Gaetane Fluet. (Photo : Courtesy Steve Blake)

After 72 years in business Rona’s A. Fluet et Fils handed the reins over to a new owner.
Raymond Fluet, 80, saw the birth and growth of the popular Stanstead hardware and building supplies store back in 1947. But its story did not start with the stock it currently has.
Fluet’s father bought the store and kept its original name of H.A. Godbout with intent to sell groceries and dried goods. In 1959, at 19 years old, Fluet became a full-time employee and, in the next decade, he saw the stock slowly evolve from food to hardware and building supplies.
“My father stayed around until he was 86 years old,” said Fluet. “I just walked into it.”
Quickly enough, keeping the store a family business became the part of the store’s small town allure. Indeed, since its opening, the store had only been managed by the Fluet household. It started when Fluet’s father retired at 86 years old, leaving his son in charge. Since, Fluet has recruited his own sons, Ivan and Jean, who, similarly to their father, began working at the store in their late teens.
“(Ivan’s) been working since he was six-months old,” joked Fluet “I put him in his baby chair and we went on a delivery together.”
But on Monday, the family tradition came to an end. The former owner said after dedicating over 30 years of his life to the business, Ivan was now ready to move on.

For full story and others, subscribe now.

Share this article