Queen of the Hive
Alta McClellan Rules Hardware Sales from Upstairs Office

by Dyas A. Lawson

Matriarch would be one word to describe Alta McClellan — of a family of nearly 90, all under one roof.

If that sounds like a recipe for disaster, it’s not. Large numbers of this “family” are unrelated by blood, and most spend only their working day together under the roof of Hardware Sales, Bellingham. There McClellan, from the glassed-in second-story office near the front door, presides over everything with a stern hand and warm heart.

The 85-year-old woman, after a short pause for thought, uses the phrase “leader of the tribe” to describe her role in the store. Her grandsons, Rich George and Ty McClellan, grinning, come up with “queen bee” and “kingpin,” the latter of which Alta quickly corrects to “queenpin.” They all chuckle. A lot of affection and respect obviously flow between these generations — and a lot of teasing, too.

McClellan virtually defines the Superwoman role to which many of us aspire. She learned its tenets early. As a youngster on the farm near Enterprise, a spot between Ferndale and Custer, she rose at 4 a.m. daily to get milk ready to ship. She also milked cows, pitched hay, drove tractor and performed other farm-necessary tasks. At 5, she lost her mother. Before her age hit double digits, McClellan knew more about work than many of us ever learn. At 16, the family home burned. It was obvious to her that work was the only way to gain what she needed materially, and work she did.

She married late husband Max, a logger who hailed from Alger, in 1935 and the couple moved to Bellingham. Alta then began work in retail department stores. She still loves retail sales. “If I believe in something, I can sell it,” she avers with a smile. “I could sell ice to Eskimos.”

In 1962, Max and Alta bought then-Powder Sales, a surplus/logging-supply business that also sold dynamite, from terminally ill owner Lee Stevens. Alta recalls that Stevens insisted Max was the man he wanted to run the store. A pronouncement from Max’s doctor that he’d eventually be wheelchair bound because of arthritic conditions sealed the bargain. The McClellans bought the business, thinking that when Max became unable, Alta could run it and the income would supplement Social Security.

Max and Alta worked together, starting with three employees and one building, growing their business.

 

Lean early days

Son Jerry and daughter LaDonna recall that those first days were lean. Max and Alta had to borrow $50 from LaDonna and her husband, Clayton, for cash-register change for the first day. Early on, Max purchased surplus from Boeing every Thursday and trucked it home. LaDonna, who had two young sons, recalls folding a lot of surplus clothing for display. But the couple realized surplus sales’ days were limited and began to branch out. They changed the business name to Hardware Sales when they dropped dynamite as a product line.

Max had to retire in 1975. He had been the boss before that, while Alta kept books and answered the phone, as she does today. But Jerry and LaDonna recall that stepping into the leadership role came quite naturally to their mother.

By then, says Ty, Alta “was addicted to work. She just went with the flow.”

“That was her personality, to be in charge,” says LaDonna.

Alta says she couldn’t have run the business had Jerry and LaDonna not wanted to become involved. The grandkids grew up in the store, doing their part.

“We always knew we had a career here if we wanted it, or we were free to work elsewhere if we wanted that,” Jerry recalls.

Now, the business encompasses six buildings with 30,380 square feet of retail space and 47,763 square feet of warehouse space. They hold merchandise ranging from standard hardware to used office equipment to “the cable shop,” which catered originally to commercial fishers and loggers. These days, thanks to the downturn in those industries, construction folk use it more. Hardware Sales rents equipment, too.

The main building fronting James Street offers sights and scents reminding the customer of hardware stores of yore. In its 24,000 square feet reside some 90,000 SKUs — individual stock items. Compare that to a 100,000-square-foot, big-box hardware store with maybe 75,000 SKUs and you’ll understand why it’s such an experience to shop at Hardware Sales.

Walk in and ask for a two-inch No. 10 Phillips screw. Ask for a bandsaw blade. Any employee you ask will take you immediately to the proper place. Bring a piece of equipment you’re having trouble with, and you’ll immediately be treated to courteous and respectful service as the staff solves your problem.

The knowledge that this happens — that her staff is wholly dedicated to superlative customer service — makes Alta beam.

“We get phone calls, postcards, letters and things from people thanking us for going that extra step,” she says with obvious pleasure.

Rich points out that at first, the insistence on customer service and respect came from Alta, but as the company has grown it’s become part of the corporate culture. Ty adds that she insists people say “please” and “thank you” on the radio, where he’d rather keep communications short.

“But Nan says do it, and we do it!” he chuckles.

 

Tight control important

“It’s so easy to smile and say ‘thank you.’ We aim to learn our customers’ names and let them do the talking. We have so many repeat customers that it’s easy,” Alta adds.

Ty gets a kick out of teasing Alta about penny-pinching. “She went through the Depression, so she’s very careful about the little things,” he says, making sure you understand no disrespect is intended. “She’d take two hours to go through all the cashiers’ tapes to find one penny that was out of balance.”

“I’m still like that,” Alta admits, not at all shamefacedly.

Ty teases her, too, about taping together torn paper bags to “recycle” them at the nail-and-screw bins. Rich chuckles that she uses more tape than the bags are worth, but Alta defends her frugality, saying people always use the taped-up bags first. “They appreciate it,” she says.

The combination of tight control, frugality and what Alta calls impulsiveness have been major contributors to Hardware Sales’ growth. She says that whenever a decision has to be made, her first thought is usually right; if she stops to think about it, she becomes mired in indecision. She calls that impulsiveness; Rich says it’s the result of having made so many business decisions that her thought processes are honed.

It also contributes to the combination of frustration and appreciation her descendants express. While they’re sometimes flabbergasted at her dislike of technological change — it took Jerry four years to convince her the store had to switch to cash registers, for instance — they also credit her with solidity. “She’s the rock around here,” Jerry says, ensuring the younger ones don’t go too fast.

Jerry says he believes Alta’s determination to stick with her ways originates from her Depression-era youth. Only recently, Ty chuckles, has the store started buying stamped envelopes. Alta gently chides him, pointing out there was a good reason for that.

Jerry points out that she’s been surprisingly cooperative with this year’s switch to computerization. “We as a family need to have unanimous (business) decisions,” he explains. “If one of us strongly disagrees with a change, it usually doesn’t get done. To all of our amazement, her cooperation on computerization, the biggest change ever, has just been remarkable.”

 

Focus on customer

Another factor in success is letting customers set purchasing trends. Ty explains that growth and shelf stock follow the customers’ wishes. “We listen to them,” he says. “We carry what people want. If we get a special order, we get one for the customer and one for the store. Usually, if you get more than two special orders for the same thing in a month, it’s something that will sell.”

“That results in a lot of ‘D’ and ‘E’ items, too, that don’t sell,” Rich interrupts, laughing. “When that happens, they collect dust. We joke to the customers that the dust comes free.”

Alta’s run into some difficulties along the way, as a woman in a male-dominated business. Her gift for thinking fast and what Ty calls her fighting instinct have gotten her through. “I have a way of imagining what something might be used for and then sounding as if I know what I’m talking about,” she says, smiling. Ty adds, chuckling, that she won’t give overbearing men the last word. Ever.

Though she’s a demanding taskmaster, Alta’s “crew” loves and appreciates her. She may scold them as she would her own kids, even hurtfully; but once it’s done, it’s done and they’re restored to her good graces. Ty and Jerry like to joke with new people that if they haven’t gotten in trouble during their first two weeks, they haven’t been accepted. She’s done an astonishing number of generous, compassionate things to aid employees and former employees — that, Rich points out, is her favored form of charity, extended to this “family.”

And while workaholic Alta still goes to work — late, these days — at 5:30 a.m. and comes home at 7 p.m., her life revolving around the store, a couple of things are able to claim her attention from time to time.

Once a month, she plays pinochle for three hours. Every Friday, she takes an hour and a half to have her hair done. And she loves football games. Ty jokes that the latter is the only thing that gets her away from her desk.

“I do not! I listen to them on the radio while I work,” Alta disputes, while they all laugh.

As for retirement, forget it. It’s not in the picture. This hale, hearty, healthy and quite fulfilled woman has no plans for it.

“I’ll retire when I’m pushing up daisies,” she says with satisfaction. “Until then, I’ve got work to do.”