Harry Erickson's Store

Harry Erickson, born in 1878, came to the Borderlands with his brother John Erickson in 1906 before Ranier was incorporated in 1908. He worked in Fort Frances as a carpenter and builder and fur dealer until 1907 when he went into business with his brother and opened the Erickson Bros. store. The brothers' relationship soured and in 1920 they went their separate ways. Harry opened his own general store right across Spruce Street from his brother's. He and his wife Grace operated the store for many years until Harry decided to focus full time on building, renting, and operating boats. They sold the building to Cliff Moe in the mid-1930s. During this time, the Ranier post office was in the back of the store, Grace Erickson was postmaster. Jr. After returning from military service in 1946, Harry Erickson Jr. opened and operated Harry's Fine Store out of the same building his father had built decades earlier. The building remained a grocery store for many years under different owners, including Phil Paulbeck, before being converted into Woody's Pub. In 2016, brothers Matt and Paul Kavan opened Loony's Brew, a brewery and pub.