Business stands the test of time

SETTING up on the “wrong side of the street” in 1963, Claude and Pam Cater began their small business only $6000 and a mission to provide quality menswear to locals.

With experience in both menswear and business, the couple knew all they wanted to do was open their own store.

“Claude was working at Jack and Newells in the menswear section, and I was in finances at Hansen Ford and he said he wanted to work in the police force,” Pam said.

“I said ‘no, our family has shifted a lot’ and I didn’t want to shift again so he said, ‘the only other thing I want to do is have my own store’ so that is how it started.”

At the time, there were already several menswear stores set up along the main strip of Mareeba but through their connections in the community, they soon earned a loyal customer base.

Their store at 188 Byrnes Street, which is now My Mareeba Dentist, served them well and Claude and Pam worked endless hours to keep up with supply and demand.

After 10 years of doing it themselves, the couple could confidently say they were a successful business and began working on ways to expand.

Working 50 to 60 hours a week, the workload became too much for the couple which pushed them to employ their first staff member, Cathy Bolen.

“We took stock home at nighttime and checked it and priced it and brought it back the next day,” Pam said.

“And back in the day when the riders came into town from the stations to get their jeans, they would be very stiff… I would take their clothes home and wash and neatly iron them so they were soft and ready to go for the rodeos.

“Those were just some of the things we did for our local customers, especially those who worked out on the stations.”

The business continued to expand and in 1983 they made the big move to 199 Byrnes Street, where they have remained since.

Only three years later, they joined the Mensland group, giving the small business many opportunities to grow and learn more about the retail world.

Supporting local sporting clubs and schools with their uniforms was a huge driving factor behind the store’s success, fulfilling its legacy of “locals supporting locals”.

Claude and Pam raised their sons, Raymond and Robert, within the shop and today, they still run the store with the same passion and dedication as their parents.

Pam still spends every day at the store, working either on the floor with customers or behind the scenes doing alterations from her sewing room or in the office.

Claude sadly passed away in 2001, leaving behind the successful business in the hands of his sons who implement his legacy of “good old fashion service” every day.