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Page 12, Terrace Bay-Schreiber News, Wednesday, May 28, 1986 Spadoni empire now stretches all across North Shore By Conrad Felber _ (The following story was .oxiginally written for Nor- thern Ontario Business. It will appear in a future issue of that publication) The Spadoni Brothers empire, which now con- sists of numerous automobile dealerships and other services all across the north: shore of Lake Superior, stretching from Thunder Bay in the west to Sault Ste. Marie in the east, began three generations and over 80 years ago in the small town of White River, with a tiny confec- tionery store in an aban- doned box car. Now the company employs approximately 70 people in eight different cities, according to Spadoni Brothers President R.B. '*Bob" Spadoni. He noted that the Spadoni story in Canada started in 1904, when Gino Spadoni emigrated from his native Italy to this coun- try. After living for a short time in Montreal and then Espanola, Gino moved to White River, where he wound up working for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Then, in 1906, Gino decided to open a confec- tionary store and work there part-time while keep- ing his full-time CPR job. The store provided goods for the other Italian im- migrant workers living in the town. A year passed by, dur- ing which time Gino saved enough 'money to bring his four brother to Canada. The brothers--Louie, Pete, Augusto, and Attilio--also became employed with the railway and this gave Gino the opportunity to work full-time at his store. By 1910 he had moved out of the box car store and into a larger shop, which is still in operation today, accor- ding to Mike Spadoni, one ' of Bob Spadoni's five sons. "'The initial success of this venture was partly due to participation in the fur trade," Mike explained in a family history treatise he wrote while at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay in 1977. '* Trapping was a major source of income in the area, and the Spadoni Brothers operation was prosperous (at that time),"' he added. The fur trade began to decline somewhat a number of years later, but the White River store was still involved with it to - some degree until just four years ago, according to Spadoni Freshmart manager Walter Spadoni. The confectionery store later became Spadoni's Home Hardware. Only three of the five Spadoni brothers remained in Canada by 1921. Gino, Attilio, and Augusto established their firm as a partnership, with each brother drawing only what was needed to live on. The company was able to pay for all family expenses, Mike Spadoni's report noted, including such things as the education of the Spadoni children. All profits were retained in the business. During that same year, the brothers began to ex- pand the partnership, with a move to Schreiber and the subsequent acquisition of a Studebaker franchise in 1926. This became a General Motors dealership three years later, and serv- ed as the "headquarters" for the constantly growing empire from then on. Bob Spadoni's eldest son Pat, who now serves as the Schreiber dealership's sales manager, pointed out that back in the late 1920s and early 1930s, there were very few roads in the area, as the Trans-Canada Highway was not com- pleted through the North Shore until 1959. He recalled new cars which were sold right off the back of railway flat cars in then isolated towns like Marathon, Manitouwadge, and White River. The company, in the early 1940s, began to ex- periment with other business dealings, obtain- ing interests in hotels located in Jackfish and Schreiber. After the CPR moved its operations out of Jackfish, the hotel in that town experienced an economic slump and was destroyed by fire in the ear- ly 1960s, while the Schreiber hotel was sold in 1956. The car sales operations, on the other hand, flourish- ed during those years, and car lots were opened in Marathon and Manitou- wadge. Pat Spadoni said that after his father return- ed from fighting in World War II, he obtained a garage in Schreiber and a When it comes to Insurance it's SUPERIOR - SHORELINE Gordon Moorey Broker also opened a clothing store. In 1949, Bob and Ruth Spadoni were married, and they recently celebrated their 37th wedding an- niversary. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the second Spadoni generation of top management began to develop, Mike Spadoni's report noted. Bob, Attilio's only son, began work in Schreiber during that same period, while at the same time he became a father to five sons . and one daughter. All of his children now work within the company's Schreiber division. Pat. is the sales manager, Stan acts as the service manager, Rick is the garage's parts manager, Mike became the com- pany's comptroller after ting from university. Bob's daughter Cora mar- ried Larry Dunwoody, and together they operate Tilden Rent-a-car service which is independent from the actual Spadoni Brothers company. When Gino Spadoni died in 1970, Bob assum- ed the position of company president, and has remain- ed so since then. "It was under his leadership that 'the focus of the company shifted from the store Call 825-9492 operations to the auto dealership,"Mike said in his treatise. The Schreiber home base now has a Petro- Canada service centre which includes a full-time mechanic and an auto- motive clean-up centre Bob Spadoni, President of the Spadoni Brothers com- right on site. The Schreiber General Motors dealership employs well over two dozen people, with a full- time salesman and sales manager at the sales lot, a service manager and five full-time mechanics at the service shop, and a staff of five including a parts manager at the parts department. The body shop has three on staff and a paint room with three full- time body men plus a foreman. Schreiber also has Spadoni's Clothing and Family tree Gino, at left, and Augusto. The photographs are on the wall in his office in Schreiber. The company has pany in Northwestern Ontario, recently posed with portraits of his father Attilio, at far right, and his uncles \ \\ | for sure! Your can't go wrong when you call your local in- surance broker ¢ fast claims service e no long distance telephone calls ° caring members of the community ® personal accountability House ° Aute ¢ Life or Furniture, and a Tilden franchise. The company also operates a Tilden serive at the airport in Ter- race Bay, plus another one in Wawa. ~ (The Spadoni story will be concluded in next week's issue of the News.) interests in towns throughout the North Shore area. | Eilleen Belliveau Broker Call 825-9646