John Erickson's Store

John Erickson, born December 28, 1884, in Clara City, MN, moved to this area in 1906, before Ranier was incorporated. For a year, John and his brother Harry Erickson worked in Fort Frances as carpenters and builders. In 1907, they established Erickson Bros. store in Ranier. One of the earliest businesses in town, it served as a general store and fur-buying business (they brothers were both taxidermists). The brothers' partnership dissolved in 1920 and John took over the store on his own and renamed it the Old Trading Post. He continued to run the store with his wife Gina into the 1940s when he eventually sold the store to his nephew George Erickson. After George Erickson, the store was bought by John Erickson's daughter, Arden Barnes. With the help of her mother, Gina, Arden ran Arden's Village Store for several years.