July 30, 2014 at 2:41 p.m.
Holiday celebrates 30 years on Courtney Street, 50 years in Rhinelander
Holiday celebrates 30 years on Courtney Street, 50 years in Rhinelander
The store celebrated its 30th year on Courtney and its 50th year in Rhinelander.
"It says 30 years on our banner, but after we put that up we found out that the first Holiday store opened in Rhinelander in 1964. It had been an Erickson Oil but switched over to a Holiday station," said general manger Becky Marheine.
"That one was over by the depot and the main building still exists. Back then it sold everything, it was like a general store that also had gasoline. They had guns, toys, housewares, clothing and boots and live bait and everything else you could think of."
Holiday holds a little celebration every five years as a thank you to its customers.
"We do brats outside and things like that for the community. We set up outside and have places to sit down and talk with people - a lot of our regulars become our friends here, so it's always nice to be able to sit and visit with them - and have sales on a bunch of stuff and all that as our way of thanking the community," Marheine said. "We always have sales and that, but we try to tie everything in together when we throw our celebrations just as an extra thank you to everyone who comes in and supports us and chats with us and things like that."
One of the special things about this year's celebration was that a lot of customers were able to reflect on the history of Holiday in Rhinelander.
"People sit down with us and we get a chance to talk and visit and this year we heard a lot of nostalgic stories about the history of the store," Marheine said. "I learned all kinds of things about the company from long before I was here."
Hearing those stories brought a smile to Marheine's face.
"I would say half of the customers said they used to shop at the first Holiday downtown and they had for years and their families had for years and now their children and grandchildren are buying gas here," she said. "It's really heartwarming to know we have that special kind of community here."
There's a charity event associated with the celebrations as well, and this year was no different.
"We always tie-in a charity event. This year we bought corn and we had roasted corn for a donation which all went to (the Northwoods Alliance for Temporary Housing)," Marheine said. "We were able to raise a nice chunk of change for them to help support the Frederick Place."
More special than anything else, however, was how many people came out to join in on the celebration.
"Oh, my goodness. I couldn't believe it. I was completely overwhelmed by the turnout," Marheine said. "For the brats and corn, we served over 300 the first day and 300 again the second. It was just incredible, especially with the donations. People were very generous with that. We had groups from out of town show up and stop by and see us. It really was amazing. I've never seen so many people in my life. We've really got a special community here."
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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